As the final seconds bled off the clock, Paige Bueckers found herself trapped. Golden State’s Veronica Burton and Kaila Charles swarmed her at the three-point line, intent not on saving the game but on denying her a single point. Dallas was already out of reach, down nine, yet the Valkyries locked her up because Bueckers needed one more bucket to keep her streak of double-digit scoring alive. The horn sounded, and the ball never left her hands.
This is the attention Bueckers has commanded in her rookie season. Injuries have ravaged Dallas’ rotation, forcing her into an outsized role. Eight of the twelve players from opening night have missed significant time, and yet the rookie guard continues to draw star-level defense.
“She lets the game come to her,” said Wings coach Chris Koclanes. “She plays at her own pace, she doesn’t rush, and that’s rare for a first-year player in this league.”
Dallas has long been eliminated from postseason contention, leaving Bueckers to chase milestones rather than victories. Still, she has risen. She has been the league’s top rookie scorer every month of 2025, averaging 18.9 points per game, the seventh-best rookie mark in WNBA history. With three games remaining, she has a chance to pass teammate Arike Ogunbowale’s 19.1 average for sixth.
Scoring With Precision
Much like her time at UConn, where she led her team to a national title, Bueckers’ scoring comes efficiently. Among rookies who averaged at least 17 points, her 46.7 percent shooting ranks sixth. Only two guards have ever done better: Chennedy Carter, who thrived inside the WNBA bubble, and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who was already 34 when she debuted during the league’s first season.
Her skill is not limited to buckets. Bueckers is on track to join a group of only 12 rookies ever to average five assists per game. Only one rookie guard has ever paired 15 points with five assists: Caitlin Clark.
Clark Sets the Standard
Clark’s 2024 debut reset expectations. She brought scoring, vision, and flair that demanded comparisons to legends like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. Yet even Bird and Taurasi, who each made the All-Star Game as rookies, did not combine elite playmaking with high-volume scoring the way Clark did.
Clark and Bueckers represent a new breed, entering a league tilted more toward offense, yet still separating themselves from peers.
Their rookie years have been defined by record-setting nights. Bueckers tied the rookie scoring record with 44 points against Los Angeles, a performance that came with hardship-contract teammates flanking her in the starting lineup. Clark set the single-game assist record with 19.
Comparing the Numbers
Statistically, Clark’s rookie résumé edges out Bueckers in most categories:
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Points: 19.2 to 18.9
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Rebounds: 5.7 to 3.7
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Assists: 8.4 to 5.3
Turnovers tell a different story. Bueckers averages just 2.1 per game compared to Clark’s 2.8. Shooting splits reveal nuance: Bueckers has the higher field-goal percentage, but Clark’s volume and efficiency from distance (34.4 percent on far more attempts) give her an effective field-goal percentage of 52.2, slightly better than Bueckers’ 50.4.
Context Matters
Numbers alone cannot capture the difference in situations. Clark benefited from having Aliyah Boston in the middle, who collected 105 of her assists, more than two per game. Bueckers shared the floor with an All-Star guard in Arike Ogunbowale, but Dallas lacked a dominant post presence like Boston.
Team impact tells another story. Bueckers posted a worse net rating than Clark, minus-5.0 compared to minus-2.4, but the Wings were 8.1 points per 100 possessions better with Bueckers on the court. Win shares also tilt in her favor, 3.5 to 3.0.
What Really Separates Them
Clark’s rookie season carried postseason weight. She helped lift Indiana from a 2-9 start into the playoff hunt. Bueckers, on the other hand, spent her first year playing games without consequence, unable to influence the standings.
That is the next challenge. Bueckers has already proven she can score, create, and command defenses. To etch her name alongside Clark’s, she will need to do it when the season is on the line, when possessions decide more than personal accolades.
Clark’s debut ended with defenders chasing her off the arc in a playoff push. Bueckers’ ended with defenders shadowing her just to keep her under ten points in a meaningless August game. The contrast says less about talent than about circumstance. But circumstance matters in how history remembers.
For now, both rookies stand as proof that the WNBA’s future is already here.
