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Wings' Paige Buckers sets new career-high in Caitlin Clark-esque performance
Paige Bueckers made her much-anticipated return from a concussion on Wednesday night.
Yet, the No. 1 overall pick wasn't just back on the floor for the Dallas Wings. She was better than she has been all season, setting a new career-high in just the first half.
Paige Bueckers just set a new career-high in ONE HALF
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 12, 2025
22 PTS (previous: 21)
8-10 FGM
5 REB
Perfect 3-3 3PM
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Bueckers, who led UConn to the national championship in April, has gotten her WNBA career off to a stellar start so far.
Before her injury, in six games, Bueckers was leading the league in assists (6.7), on top of averaging 14.7 points (19th), 2.0 steals (tied for third) and 4.7 rebounds.
If there was one complaint, the rookie is shooting just 33% from three-point range, although her overall shooting percentage is 43.7%.
At least before her return to the lineup.
Bueckers doesn't quite get the hype of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, but her game isn't far behind, and Wednesday night was a great example of that.
Playing against the Phoenix Mercury after missing four games, Bueckers exceeded her previous career-high for points, 21, with 22 points in the first half.
Bueckers made 8-of-10 shots from the field. She was also a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Unfortunately, the rest of the Wings didn't offer much help in what ended up as the team's 10th loss, 93-80.
Bueckers heated up again late in the second half, drilling two more triples to try and ignite a comeback, clinching her first 30-point game in the league in the process.
Paige Bueckers just notched her first 30-piece of her professional career
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 12, 2025
DAL-PHX | WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/KSvpRX6pBb
Bueckers finished with 35 points (13-of-19), six rebounds, four assists and five three-pointers in a performance that was Clark-esque.
Clark reached the 30-point plateau for the first time in her eighth WNBA game. Bueckers did it in her seventh.
Bueckers might not have the same game as Clark, but she can be just as impactful, and this was a reminder of that.
More must-reads:
- Paige Bueckers finds inspiration from former Mercury star's longevity
- Angel Reese-Paige Bueckers team-up a possibility via trade?
- The 'Second-leading receiver by NFL team' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
49ers pull off trade for disgruntled Commanders star
Brian Robinson‘s tenure with the Washington Commanders is coming to an end as expected. The fourth-year running back will spend the coming season in San Francisco. The San Francisco 49ers and Commanders agreed to terms on a Robinson trade Friday, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. A 2026 sixth-round pick will head the other way as a result of the swap. San Francisco had been in the market for a backfield addition, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Efforts to pull off a move have now paid off ahead of roster cutdowns. Washington will retain a portion of Robinson’s 2025 salary ($3.4M), Garafolo adds. It recently became clear Washington was looking to move on from Robinson, who did not dress in the team’s second preseason game, with a trade looming. The team’s Dan Quinn-Adam Peters regime has been open to a trade since last year, and with a swap now agreed to it will proceed with its other in-house RB options. Washington has veteran Austin Ekeler in the fold along with 2023 draftee Chris Rodriguez and seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has enjoyed a strong training camp. Quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Commanders in rushing last year, and today’s deal indicates he will once again be counted on as a central element of the team’s ground game. Expectations are high after Washington made a surprise run to the NFC title game during Daniels’ rookie campaign. Robinson will not play a role in the team’s efforts to duplicate that success, though. Racking up 570 carries across his three seasons in the nation’s capital, Robinson was a key figure on offense with the Commanders. The former third-rounder saw his touchdown total and yards per attempt figure increase with each passing campaign. That included eight scores and 4.3 yards per carry in 2024. Instead of retaining Robinson on the final year of his rookie pact, however, Washington will proceed with a less expensive backfield. The Commanders will recoup draft capital in this swap, something which is needed given the number of veterans on their roster. For the 49ers, meanwhile, today’s deal marks another addition on offense for the 2025 season. A trade was worked out on Wednesday for Skyy Moore, giving San Francisco a healthy receiver option. Moore, like Robinson, is a pending 2026 free agent. The 49ers have Christian McCaffrey atop the RB depth chart, and all parties involved will aim for a healthier season this time around than 2024. After trading away Jordan Mason, the team was in position to have 2024 fourth-rounder Isaac Guerendo handle backup duties. Now, he and Robinson will compete for playing time in the backfield (although using McCaffrey and Robinson on the field together could be an option, per Garafolo). Robinson’s market will of course be dictated in large part by the level of success he has with his new team. San Francisco entered Friday with nearly $49M in cap space. Taking on Robinson will eat into the figure, and it will be interesting to see how much Washington retained on his pact to finalize the trade. The Commanders, meanwhile, should see partial cap savings and thus add to their roughly $17M in available funds ahead of cutdowns. As both NFC teams prepare for the campaign in the coming days, they will do so with differences in their backfields.
Green Bay Packers: Luke Musgrave’s Wife’s Stunned Reaction to Jordan Love’s Wife’s Personal Post
Commanders fans receive hopeful Terry McLaurin update
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has suggested on multiple occasions that he is "one hundred percent" confident he will "be throwing some passes to" wide receiver Terry McLaurin during the 2025 season. It seems Daniels may have had some inside information. NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed Friday that the situation involving the Commanders and McLaurin "is in a better spot than it’s been" since the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "The sides started out pretty far apart," wrote Breer, "so there was a lot of ground to make up. Maybe the deadlines in the next couple of weeks will help push an agreement through." The "pretty far apart" line may be referencing a previous report that claimed "one person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations" said he had "asked for more than" the average annual value attached to DK Metcalf's five-year, $150M deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That same story insinuated that Washington may be more comfortable paying McLaurin around $27M or $28M per season via a multiyear extension. Coming off their trip to this year's NFC Championship Game, the Commanders likely won't be trading McLaurin's rights anytime soon. At this point, Washington acquiring a suitable replacement for McLaurin and getting him familiar with the team's offense in time for the Commanders' Week 1 game against the New York Giants is unrealistic. For an article published on Aug. 18, ESPN's Ben Solak wrote that he believed the McLaurin-Commanders standoff would eventually end "with a compromise extension before Week 1." It's unclear what McLaurin will do if this does not occur before the Giants matchup on Sept. 7, but it sounds like the two sides could work something out.
Bengals have major PR blunder over invite to former player for Ring of Honor ceremony
The Cincinnati Bengals do not have the best reputation when it comes to their willingness to spend money. They have been regarded as one of the cheapest teams in the league over how much they are willing to pay players, over their front office, coaching, scouting staff and for pretty much anything else that comes with running a professional sports franchise. Now, one of their all-time greatest players is putting them on blast for the way they invited him to the team's Ring of Honor ceremony in October. Former quarterback Boomer Esiason revealed on his radio show on Friday that his invite to the Oct. 26 ceremony wasn't exactly one that made him willing to jump up and rush back to Cincinnati. Instead of a personal invite, Esiason revealed that he received a form-letter email that he had to RSVP with for the ceremony, two tickets to the game with the opportunity to purchase more on his own and a group rate for a hotel that he would have to book himself, while also providing his own transportation. Here is the entire story from Esiason. On one hand, the common fan is not really going to understand his gripe here, and he might even come off as a little entitled. Maybe spoiled. Maybe even something of a jerk. But, is he wrong when you consider the context? The context being, he is a former professional athlete who is already in the Bengals' ring of honor and a player who made significant contributions to the franchise. He is one of the top quarterbacks -- and players -- to ever suit up for the team. Usually, teams go out of their way to roll out the red carpet for those players and bring them back for events like this. At least, that is probably the type of treatment players are accustomed to from multi-billion-dollar professional sports teams. Could Esiason afford his own plane ticket and hotel room? Could he buy his own tickets to the game? Absolutely. He was a starting quarterback in the NFL for over a decade and is one of the highest-profile radio hosts on the top sports talk channel in the country. He's probably doing fine financially. A trip to Cincinnati probably is not out of his budget. Still, it's the lack of effort from the Bengals that really stands out here, and it's not a great look for a franchise that doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to spending money. Yeah, Esiason can afford it. But so can the Bengals. And if they wanted him — and any other player — to show up, they could at least make it worth their while and a little easier for them. This story also caught the attention of former Bengals running back Corey Dillon, who delivered his own shot at the team on social media. Tough look all around for the Bengals to have former players — all-time great players for the franchise — calling them out.
Bears HC Ben Johnson has harsh comments about team's offense
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson was not happy with his first-team offense following Friday night's preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Caleb Williams and the Bears' starters played the entire first half in their team's 29-27 win over the Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Fans had better hope the unit was not in midseason form. On Chicago's first offensive play of the game, Williams fumbled while trying to hand the ball to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus on a jet sweep. The Bears recovered, but rookie tight end Colston Loveland had a false start on the next play. That drive ended with a punt, as did the Bears' second drive. The third drive resulted in a field goal, and Chicago finally found the end zone on its fourth drive. The Bears trailed 20-10 going into halftime. Following the game, Johnson had some harsh remarks about his offense. "Offensively, the first two possessions was really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far, and unfortunately that's what we got here tonight," Johnson said, via ESPN's Courtney Cronin. Williams finished the game 11-of-15 for 113 yards and a touchdown, so the numbers were far from terrible. Still, Johnson was more concerned with the slow start and said he "thought we had worked our way out of that." "If the first quarter was really any indication, it's not good enough, so we got to get better in a hurry," Johnson added. "Good news is we will be able to look at this tape and coach it up with our guys and I think it's out of our system hopefully for us going into the regular season. We got to make sure that we start faster on offense and on defense." Johnson also appeared to criticized Williams more directly when asked a question about a sack play. Most teams would agree that preseason play means very little. If anything, Johnson's assessment of the Bears' starting unit on Friday night is a reminder that he has extremely high expectations for Williams and company. Johnson had one of the best offenses in the NFL during his time with the Detroit Lions. That is why the Bears hired him, and he is holding his new team to the same high standard.
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