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Paige Bueckers Gets Hopeful Message From Wings Teammate After Sudden Absence

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 7:02 AM ET

Paige Bueckers was all set to play on Wednesday night as the Dallas Wings hosted the Connecticut Sun in a home game at College Park Center. The Wings, however, decided to pull her out of the game just minutes before tip-off, which resulted in the highly touted rookie’s eighth missed game of the season.

Bueckers a Late Scratch for Sun Game

Bueckers, who is averaging 19.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 triples per game in her debut season, was initially listed as questionable to play for Wednesday’s clash against Connecticut. The 23-year-old is dealing with an illness, which forced her to miss Tuesday’s practice.

Bueckers, however, was able to participate in her team’s shootaround in full on Wednesday morning, which led to the team giving her the green light to play.

It is unclear if something happened between the time the team cleared Bueckers to play and when they suddenly decided to have her sit out the game. It is possible that Dallas ultimately deemed the 6-foot guard unfit to take the court due to her illness.

Maddy Siegrist Gives Bueckers Her Flowers

Without Bueckers in the picture, the Wings suffered a 101-95 loss to the Sun. This was Dallas’ sixth straight loss and its ninth in the last 10 games. They remain dead last in the WNBA with a 9-30 record.

After another humbling defeat, Wings forward Maddy Siegrist (15 points, three assists) was asked to share her thoughts on Bueckers’ impact on the team. The 25-year-old had nothing but high praise for her young teammate.

"I think what Paige is doing, if she was an eighth year player would be amazing," Siegrist said. "To come in right off the college season and be able to do this is just so impressive. It just speaks volumes to the type of player (and) type of person she is. She really makes people around her better.

"Obviously, we missed her tonight, but hopefully we'll get her back."

As Siegrist stated, the Wings are hoping to get Bueckers back as soon as possible. Her next chance to play would be on Friday when Dallas takes on the Atlanta Dream in a road matchup at Gateway Center Arena.

It is worth noting, however, that the Wings have nothing left to play for this season, which means that they won’t be rushing Bueckers back on the court unless she’s healthy enough — especially after Wednesday’s sudden turn of events.

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

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