Paige Bueckers Finds Positives in 10-Win Rookie Year as Victory Over Mercury Brings Her Closer to Caitlin Clark

They called 2025 the Jubilee Year of Hope, and Paige Bueckers’ rookie campaign with the Dallas Wings justifies it. The standings say they finished 13th, snapping a ten-game losing streak only in the finale against the Mercury. But Paige’s tone is unchanged. Her joy came from something much deeper. “I wish I could go and tell everybody’s stories. Some of the stories and how much we’ve stuck together through it all, how close we’ve gotten, and how much adversity we’ve been through.” And adversity – well, she’s on a first-name basis with it. “I’ve been through a lot of adversity at UConn, and you see the progression and the strength that it continues to build for you. Not just as an individual, but as a collective as well, and how much that does for you in the long run.”

That torn ACL in her sophomore NCAA season taught her she could survive anything: a concussion, a back injury, tendonitis, even illness. And the constant through everything has been gratitude. So when she wrapped her first W season, Paige didn’t talk about the standings. She talked about the reps, the people, and the growth. “So, to get these reps, for us as rookies especially, to just be with this group—I wouldn’t trade this rookie year for anything. People can look at the results and say, ‘How can you be so happy with a 10-win season?’ But I know I’ll look back at the end of my career and be really appreciative of this rookie season, along with everybody else.”

And there was plenty to celebrate despite the 10-win season, as Bueckers made history. She just surpassed Sue Bird to be the 3rd rookie in WNBA history with the most assists. The landscape looks like this now:

• Caitlin Clark: 337 assists (2024, Indiana Fever)
• Ticha Penicheiro: 224 assists (1998, Sacramento Monarchs)
• Paige Bueckers: 194 assists (2025, Dallas Wings)
• Sue Bird: 191 assists (2002, Seattle Storm)

That’s right, she’s a step closer to Caitlin Clark. And that’s not the only stat where she moved closer to the reigning rookie. She even surpassed A’ja Wilson (682) for the 3rd-most points by a WNBA player in their rookie season. Which means the scoring landscape now reads:

• Caitlin Clark: 769 points (2024, Indiana Fever)
• Seimone Augustus: 744 points (2006, Minnesota Lynx)
• Paige Bueckers: 692 points (2025, Dallas Wings)
• A’ja Wilson: 682 points (2018, Las Vegas Aces)

However, the night wasn’t historical for Paige alone. There was more to pop champagne to as Bueckers, Aziaha James, and Amy Okonkwo all dropped 20+ in the finale, becoming the first rookie trio to ever do it in league history. That’s not the kind of memory that fades. It’s the kind you toast to in the offseason. Especially after heading into it by snapping a ten-game losing streak against a higher-seeded team. For Paige, a Jubilee rookie, it’s proof that the celebration never really ends if you live life the way she has always been doing it.

Paige Bueckers never forgets one word

The Jubilee Year of Hope, as we said before, was the perfect one for Bueckers to step in as a person who has always carried herself with gratitude. “Just an overwhelming sense of gratitude,” Bueckers told Holly Rowe on draft night, when asked what was on her mind after being picked first. Paige never even believed in rewriting the path. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world just because it became such a beautiful story… of keeping the faith, of working extremely hard, and I really wouldn’t trade it,” she said about her journey to the W.

And sure enough, what she feels after this rookie season (one that ended with just ten wins and more turbulence than anyone expected) is oddly similar to what she said when she entered. The roots of this attitude were planted long before. We first saw them back in 2023, when Bueckers stepped on the floor for her first regular-season minutes in 584 days, after rehabbing a torn ACL.

She admitted she was more excited for that game, her third in a UConn jersey, than even her freshman debut. It was because this time she knew what it was like to have the game taken away. That’s how she’s lived since: grateful at every step. By 2024, with her health finally stable, she doubled down on it. “Thank you God for an amazing year,” she posted. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1.” 

Now, as her first professional season closed, she reminded us once more that gratitude is her compass: “I know I’ll look back at the end of my career and be really appreciative of this rookie season, along with everybody else.” In a league measured by wins and losses, Paige Bueckers measures herself by growth, faith, and thankfulness. Maybe that’s the real lesson. What do you think? Should we all try to live a little more like Paige? Share your thoughts below.