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Dallas Wings Coach Makes Final Decision on Paige Bueckers Amid Illness

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 3:24 PM ET

The last time Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers was on the court was May 29. In that time, Dallas has lost all four of its games, dropping the franchise's overall record to 1-9.

However, the Wings received a good piece of news on Tuesday, per reporting from beat writer Joey Mistretta, as head coach Chris Koclanes confirmed that Bueckers has cleared the concussion protocol and will have no minutes restrictions in Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Mercury.

Koclanes noted that Bueckers had been "working behind the scenes" when asked about her latest status or any possible minute restrictions.

Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, is the second-leading scorer on the Wings, averaging 14.7 points per game, right behind Arike Ogunbowale at 16.3 PPG. The 23-year-old rookie is also contributing 4.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in her six contests.

Wings HC Chris Koclanes says Paige Bueckers is “good to go” and won’t have any minutes restriction tomorrow against the Mercury.#WingsUp pic.twitter.com/VrB1bLHT5f
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) June 10, 2025

On May 30, Bueckers was placed into concussion protocol after the Wings' 97-92 loss to the Chicago Sky, the first game in a doubleheader against the cross-conference foe.

Just a few days before her injury, Bueckers led Dallas to their first win of the 2025 season, a 109-87 win over the Connecticut Sun. Bueckers stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block.

At just 1-9 this year, the Wings are last in the latest WNBA standings.

When asked by Mistretta about what she learned from watching the Wings from the sidelines over the last four games, Bueckers noted limiting unforced errors and focusing on what the team can control.

"Just a lot of stuff that happens in the game we can control. And sometimes I feel like we’re our biggest opponent in terms of stuff that we can do to contribute to winning. So coming back, having that perspective on how we can change things.

"It’s just little things that we can clean up, specifically like turnovers and transition defense are a few things… Just looking how much internally we’re hurting ourselves so it’s definitely stuff that’s fixable."

The Wings will next face the Mercury on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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