Paige Bueckers held the fate of the game against the Minnesota Lynx in the same stadium, which saw her go from an amateur to a budding prospect. The star was born less than 10 miles from the Target Center in St. Louis Park and Hopkins High School. With just 40 seconds to go and a 5-point deficit, Bueckers dribbled on the edge of the three-point line looking for an opening. She dragged three defenders towards her before laying it off to Arike Ogunbowale, who knocked down an open three to cut the deficit to just two points.
Bueckers could taste that first WNBA win coming, but that fire was doused by Napheesa Collier, who put the game beyond their grasp with her two perfect free throws at the other end. It was close for Dallas, but not close enough. Despite the loss, Bueckers continued her upward trajectory, scoring 12 points and dishing out 10 assists for her first double-double of her career. She became the first rookie to get a double-double within her first three games. Naturally, with Bueckers making early waves, comparisons to fellow rookie Caitlin Clark were inevitable.
Clark took six games to record her first double-double. While Clark had a huge problem handling the pace of the WNBA, it led to many turnovers in her career. Paige doesn’t seem to have any difficulty. Clark had 21 turnovers in her first three games, while Paige had just seven. The assist-to-turnover ratio also favors the rookie, as she has 2.8 assists per turnover while Clark had 0.8. That performance came just hours after the media stoked the rivalry fire once again.
The buzz around Paige and Caitlin isn’t just about stats—it’s part of how women’s basketball is covered these days. As No. 1 draft picks—Clark in 2024 for the Indiana Fever and Bueckers in 2025 for the Dallas Wings—they’re both carrying huge expectations. They play similar roles, ran the show at Iowa and UConn, and had legendary college careers, so the media loves pitting them against each other.
In their first three career games:
Paige — Caitlin —
20 AST 17 AST
7 TOV 21 TOV pic.twitter.com/8EvqQ6BCYm
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 22, 2025
Caitlin Clark was asked about the media creating the Clark-Bueckers comparisons, like Paige had said. Her exact words were, ”That’s what the media cares about. That’s what everybody who watches basketball cares about. I used to be bothered by it. But I’ve done so much work on myself and my approach.”
Clark wholeheartedly agreed with her Dallas counterpart, saying, “Yeah, for sure. The media is always going to do that. There’s always going to be comparisons.”
The media is sometimes the culprit in creating some problems and comparisons out of thin air. Even in the case of Clark and Reese, it is the media that has blown things out of proportion. But the case with Clark and Bueckers is different. Both are No. 1 draft picks. The two play the same position. Both had a historic college season. The rivalry was bound to be created. Clark further echoed Paige on focusing on yourself.
She said, “So you just believe in yourself, believe in your abilities, and have confidence in what you’re going to do. It’s never about comparing [yourself] to somebody before you or somebody that will come after you. At the end of the day, it’s [about] how you are going to help your team? How are you going to help yourself get better?”
That is the elite-level mentality Clark brings to the game. Instead of obsessing over rivals or being consumed by media narratives, she stays locked in on her own performance and growth. Athletes who fixate on outdoing their opponents often fall into a mental trap—constantly anxious about being outshined, even when they give their best. That mindset breeds frustration and disappointment. True greatness lies in self-mastery, not in chasing someone else’s shadow.
Dallas Showing Early Signs of Promise despite 0-3 record
Dallas is touted to be among the worst teams in the league and not without good reason. They are starting with a blank drawing board with a new coach and just four players returning to the squad from last season, in which they finished 11th with a 9-31 record. They have lost all three of their first three games but there has been progress.
Paige Bueckers’ performances are on an upward trajectory. In the first game she looked uncomfortable and struggled with the league’s physicality but still managed to score 10 points and give 2 assists. The second game against Storm was much better, getting a team-high 19 points while getting 8 assists in a close loss.
Coming into the third game, she had excellent individual statistics but her maturity was the most noticeable improvement. On a court that she called home for many years, it would have been easy to go for glory but the team comes first. As we discussed, that final play to get Arike a free three-pointer was extremely mature. She went from ‘do I belong here?’ to ‘how can I get this win?’ within a span of three games.
She always belonged here, that’s no question but after the first two games in which she saw firsthand the strength of WNBA players. There must have surely been a small voice asking her if she can cope with this. After that third game, there is not a shadow of a doubt.
Arike is still finding her feet with this new team and the new coach, as her 23 points and 19 rebounds were essential in getting that second game against Storm close. DiJonai Carrington is getting into her own with 10 points per game so far. Maddy Siegrist is looking instrumental off the bench and could potentially turn into a starting player going forward. There are considerable things like the defense and the sloppy turnovers, to improve on but the graph is looking upwards and improvement is the end goal for the franchise this season.
Bueckers didn’t need to say much about the Caitlin Clark comparisons, her game said it all. With 12 points, 10 assists, and a clutch performance that helped Dallas push Minnesota to the edge, she showed she’s here to lead, not compete in a media-made rivalry. As the Wings build for the future, Paige’s focus on team success over personal hype is exactly what this young squad needs. She’s not just playing the game; she’s rewriting the story.
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