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Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen had a career day in Sunday's 91-78 win over the Dallas Wings, but her All-Star rookie teammate Sonia Citron was the one trending on X, formerly known as “Twitter,” on Tuesday. Fans are debating whether the latter player deserves to win Rookie of the Year over No. 1 overall pick and current favorite Paige Buckers after besting her in Sunday's matchup.
“People keep thinking we’re dogging Paige Bueckers, but that’s not it,” @JaimeLardis said. “We’re just saying y’all have been crowning her ROTY all year long. Now this quiet, mild-mannered All-Star Sonia Citron comes out of nowhere—give her the same respect! Say her name!”
“Paige: points and assists on underperforming team,” @RichFGeorgia said. “Sonia: rebounds, clutch points, scoring efficiency on overperforming team. Split decision, but winner is Sonia Citron.”
“Nothing against Paige, but Sonia is better,” @Tom29818661 said. “Especially in the 4th quarter.”
“Real hoopers (played HS, college or pro ball) can c Paige is FAR more skilled than Sonia.” @InvestCHK said. “That's not to take away from Sonia… she's a damn good player. But anyone w eyes that REALLY knows the game knows she's not on Paige's level. She's on a better team w a MUCH better coach.”
“Sonia is awesome, but she’s not doing what Paige is doing,” @73bparkerSC said.
WNBA legend Candace Parker also weighed in, via The Post Moves Show.
"Sonia is like, 'Listen, everybody had you as a preseason Rookie of the Year favorite, Paige [Bueckers].' But the last six games [Citron] is putting it up for debate."
Candace Parker on the WNBA ROTY race 🗣️
(via @PostMovesShow)pic.twitter.com/d7FLQmtCew
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 13, 2025
“Sonia is like, ‘Listen, everybody had you as a preseason Rookie of the Year favorite, Paige [Bueckers],'” she said. “But the last six games [Citron] is putting it up for debate.”
If both players maintain their current pace, which one will deserve the crown at season's end?
Sonia Citron-Paige Bueckers debate defined by differing circumstances
It's no surprise that Bueckers and Citron are the focus of the Rookie of the Year debate, as they lead all rookies with 18.4 and 14.8 points per game, respectively. Iriafen is third with 12.5, but she leads with 8.3 rebounds.
While grabbing boards is essential to winning games, scoring is king when it comes to this award. The last four winners were also the scoring champions of their rookie classes, and Minnesota Lynx guard Crystal Dangerfield was second in 2020. That's why Bueckers still has the advantage, and that's in addition to her rookie-high 5.4 assists per game against Citron's 2.4. The UConn alum is also averaging just 2.1 turnovers per game vs. Citron's 1.9, despite being the primary facilitator in her offense.
However, Citron's case is impossible to ignore. The No. 3 overall pick is more efficient both from the field (47.1 percent clip vs. Bueckers' 45.2 percent) and beyond the arc (38.8 percent vs. 32.6 percent). Additionally, she has a higher effective field goal percentage (54.7 percent vs. 49.2 percent) and true shooting percentage (60.4 percent to 54.8 percent). Effective field goal percentage accounts for the higher value of three-point shots, while true shooting includes free-throw performance and considers the efficiency of all shots.
Citron's efficiency among rookies with at least 14 points per game and 25 games played since 2000 trails only Fever forward-center Aliyah Boston's 2023 campaign, who was the Rookie of the Year that season. On top of that, the 21-year-old is the No. 1 scoring option on a competitive Mystics team after the Brittney Sykes trade, as it is 1.5 games out of a playoff spot with six weeks left. Meanwhile, the Wings are 7.5 games out.
The flip side is that Bueckers is excelling with less help around her. The 23-year-old does have four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale (15.5 PPG), but Dallas traded fellow veteran DiJonai Carrington (10.4 PPG) to the Lynx on August 3. The team doesn't have another major offensive threat besides 2023 No. 3 overall pick Maddy Siegrist (10.8 PPG).
Meanwhile, Citron has Iriafen and Shakira Austin (12.5 PPG) as well as dependable role players like Jacy Sheldon (7.6 PPG), Sug Sutton (7.3 PPG), and Jade Melbourne (6 PPG). Washington doesn't have the best roster in the league, but it showed on Sunday that it can play just fine without Sykes (15.8 PPG), who was its scoring leader before the trade.
Citron has gotten the better of Bueckers in both of their matchups this season, but it hasn't been easy. The Notre Dame alum spoke about the 2025 NCAA champion's greatness after the Mystics' 91-88 overtime win over the Wings on June 22.
Sonia Citron said that fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Paige Bueckers “can do it all,” including off-ball movements that got her a couple times.
Citron finished with 27 points and 11 boards, while Bueckers had 20 points, nine boards, and seven assists. pic.twitter.com/O8N29KGTXH
— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) June 22, 2025
“She can do it all. She's a three-level scorer,” she said. “If you go under, she's gonna make you pay with the three. She has kind of an unstoppable pull-up shot, and she can also take it to the rim. I also think she's great off-ball. The way she moves, she got me a bunch of times just reading how I was playing her. She's just a really smart, all-around player. It's hard to stop her…just try and make her work for it. But there's no way to shut her down.”
At this point, Citron has proven that there's no way to shut her down either. Whether she beats out Bueckers for the highest rookie honor will come down to what factors the voting panel values the most, but it's clear that both players could be neck and neck for years to come.
