All eyes were on star Paige Bueckers ahead of the Dallas Wings' preseason opener against the Las Vegas Aces, and for good reason. However, the Wings' other first-round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Aziaha James, proved she's just as ready for the professional spotlight. James confidently displayed her ball-handling skills and put on a show for the crowd despite Dallas' 112-78 loss.

James came out firing in the premiere contest, finishing with 10 points, three assists, and a board while going 2-for-4 from beyond the arc in her first taste of WNBA play. The 12th overall pick has shown glimpses of her greatness before, including being chosen for Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum's Dawg Class and helping NC State reach the 2024 Final Four as a junior.

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Wings fans were feeling the heat from James all game, taking to X, formerly Twitter, to hype up the young phenom. “ZahZah has been like a duck to water!!!” one supporter posted. Another supporter gave the organization credit for noticing James' talents in the first place. “Dallas got a steal getting Aziaha that late in the draft,” they declared.

Other fans shared similar feelings online during and after the game, praising James' performance and getting even more excited for the upcoming regular season. “Zaza is GOOD,” one person stated, while another added, “Aziaha looks like she belongs.” One even made a bold early prediction for how they believe James' rookie campaign may end: “ROTY.”

The Wings may not have gotten the game ending that they wanted, but they can now confirm they got a beast of a rookie in James. Dallas will have time to regroup before getting into the regular season on May 16 against the Minnesota Lynx.