Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Paige Bueckers joins elite company with strong start to her rookie year

By Kevin McCormick | Last updated May 20, 2025 5:48 PM ET

As the 2025 WNBA season gets underway, one player many have their eyes on is Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers. Through the early stages in her professional career, the No. 1 pick has already landed herself in some impressive company.

Bueckers and the Dallas Wings saw themselves in action twice during opening weekend. Although they sit at 0-2, they should feel good about their new guard.

In her WNBA debut, Bueckers notched 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Her second game was the more notable showing, as her all-around impact was on full display. Across 37 minutes against the Seattle Storm, Buckers posted a stat line of 19 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

With these pair of outings, Bueckers has put her name alongside a pair of high-level talents. She became just the third rookie in league history to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in their first two games. The others to do so are New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker.

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Coming off an impressive run in college, Bueckers is a prospect with big expectations upon entering the pros. Similar to Caitlin Clark last year, many believed she has the potential to be an impactful player from day one.

Seeing the company she's played herself into, Bueckers is meeting the expectations of a top pick. Growing pains are to be expected, but based on her showing against the Storm, she is adjusting nicely.

With the anticipation of her first games behind her, Bueckers can now focus on building off her strong play. It did not take long for her to display her ability to impact the game in multiple ways like she did at UConn. As the focal point of the Wings' roster, they're going to continue to showcase her in hopes of emerging as a leader for the group.

Following up Clark's historic rookie campaign will be no small feat, but Bueckers seems ready to make a strong impact of her own in 2025.

Kevin McCormick

Kevin McCormick is a basketball writer for Yardbarker with years of experience in the journalism field. Based out of Philadelphia, he graduated from Holy Family University with a degree in Sports Management in 2019. Since then, Kevin has gone on to build a career in sports writing

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