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Paige Bueckers was the unquestioned number one pick of the 2025 NBA Draft for a reason. She's a gifted scorer who can light up the opposition from everywhere on the hardwood, she's a talented playmaker who gets the best out of her teammates, and she brings a tenacious force at the point of attack on both ends of the floor. But Bueckers is ascending to superstar status in her very first season in the WNBA, as evidenced by her 44-point explosion on Wednesday night in the Dallas Wings' crushing 81-80 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Bueckers put the Wings squad on her back all night long and was an unstoppable force, missing just four of her 21 attempts from the field en route to scoring a career-high in points and equaling the very best single-game points tally for a rookie in WNBA history. And it's not like she took just layups, as she went perfect from deep (going 4-4) and perfect from the line (6-6).
Of course, it's a different kind of heartbreak when such a superstar-level performance doesn't end up in a win, with Kelsey Plum spoiling the party for Bueckers and the Wings with a game-winning bank shot. But after the game, Bueckers was awash with gratefulness that she can still play at this high of a level, chalking it up to the endless support she's been getting from fans whose faith in her never wavered.
“It means a lot specifically because people have gotten to see the struggle and people have gotten to see the injuries… and the ups and downs. For people to continue to follow me and still believe in me, it just really means a lot. So I'm extremely grateful for it and I'll never take that for granted,” Bueckers said after the game, per ClutchPoints Wings beat reporter Joey Mistretta.
Paige Bueckers on a rapid ascending trajectory for the Wings
Bueckers has the full offensive package, and her dominance against the Sparks should silence all doubts regarding her status as a legitimate superstar. She was hitting deep pull-up threes, off-balanced midrange pull-ups, as well as tough fadeaways. The most bonkers part of her 44-point game is that she shot 81 percent from the field and had a true shooting percentage of, gulps, 93.1 — all of that despite being a perimeter-based 5'11” guard.
The next step for the Wings is to surround Bueckers with players who can make life easier for her, as this latest defeat is Dallas' 27th in 36 games.
