As Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers made her official debut in the regular season, some may have found it to be disappointing since it wasn't an exceptional performance. While it's still an emotional moment for the Wings' first-round pick and her family, even she can acknowledge there is more work to be done, as head coach Chris Koclanes and general manager Curt Miller gave their thoughts on Bueckers' debut.

In the opening 99-84 loss of the season for Dallas against the Minnesota Lynx, Bueckers finished with 10 points on making three shots out of 10 attempts from the field, including two missed threes, to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Koclanes would be impressed with her intentionality on offense and defense, and thought she was “extremely comfortable,” according to ClutchPoints' Wings beat reporter Joey Mistretta.

“I just appreciate how intentional she is on both sides of the ball,” Koclanes said Sunday. “And defensively, just really, really buying in and then trying to help those around her and just get to good spots on the floor. And then offensively, I thought, you know, credit to Minnesota. I thought they disrupted us, and I didn't like our general speed and tempo, but credit to them.”

“I thought their ball pressure was great, they picked us up early, they pressured us in the post, so our flow at times is a little stagnant, so we'll figure that out, and we'll find it,” Koclanes continued. “But I thought she was extremely comfortable, and got off of it at times, and that was the right play, and then found her groove a little bit in the tunnel late in the second half, and loved all the shots she took and made some good reads, like she's gonna be just fine.”

Wings' general manager is “excited” about Paige Bueckers' potential

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) dribbles as Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton (6) defends during the second half at College Park Center.
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

As the Wings drafted Bueckers with the No. 1 overall pick in the latest WNBA Draft, there's no denying how she's seen as the next face of the franchise. However, there will be a lot of season left for her to hone in on her craft as the general manager in Curt Miller, spoke about how he's “excited about the potential” and points out her “command” of the game.

“I appreciate the command that she has of the game,” Miller said. “And again, we're just gonna get better and better. They're all learning to play with each other, training camps are so fast, but just really excited about the potential. This group is gonna look a lot different in July than they do in May.”

Dallas next faces the Seattle Storm on Monday, looking for their first win of the season.