The chase for the 2025 WNBA title has been a thrilling one, with fascinating storylines and subplots all around the league. The Lynx have been the class of the league all season, and even with four games to go, they already have the No. 1 seed locked up. The defending champion Liberty have struggled at times, but are still well-positioned to make another run. The Fever are hanging on to the final playoff spot amidst a cavalcade of injuries and the Aces have overcome a slow start to become real contenders once again.
Advertisement
The Wings are nowhere near the playoff conversation, but they’ve still given fans a reason to tune in, and her name is Paige Bueckers. The rookie has been everything Wings fans hoped for and more, as she’s already established herself as one of the very best players in the league.
After leading UConn to a national championship in April, Bueckers brought her ultra-efficient game to the W. She’s showcased an all-around skill set while quickly adapting to the pros, and already she looks like she’ll be a perennial MVP contender for the next decade.
Bueckers’ efficiency and deadly midrange game are noteworthy, but they’re not what’s caught WNBA legend Sue Bird’s eye the most. On the latest episode of her Bird’s Eye View podcast, the four-time WNBA champ explained why she’s enjoyed watching her fellow former Husky play so much.
“It’s been a little bit of an up-and-down season for the Wings,” Bird said, “but Paige has delivered a standout rookie year with top-tier productivity and historic scoring milestones. There’s probably gonna be a ton of conversation around her numbers as it gets put into historical context, but that’s not at all what has jumped out to me about Paige.”
“Similar to Caitlin [Clark] last year,” Bird continued, adding that “It’s been so fun just to watch her play.” The Olympics gold medalist noted that it had been fun to watch Bueckers learn and adjust to the WNBA in real time.
“It’s been fun to watch her get loose a little bit, like when she hit that step-back 3 in front of Kyrie. It’s also been fun to watch her grow into her pro game,” Bird noted.
In what is a praise of a lifetime, Bird asserted that although she gets to go to WNBA games for free, Bueckers is one of the players who she would gladly pay to see.
The season is almost over, and Bueckers has the Rookie of the Year trophy locked up. As Bird pointed out, she’s the only player in the league who is ranked in the top 10 in scoring, assists and steals per game, and she’s also top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Bueckers’ efficiency is her hallmark, but Bird believes she really won Rookie of the Year when she exploded for 44 points against the Sparks a couple of weeks ago on 17-21 shooting.
“She was actually the first WNBA player to ever shoot at least 80% while scoring over 40, so add that to the list,” Bird said. “Of her 17 made field goals, 13 of them were 2s, and half of those were from the midrange,” she added.
No game has been a better example of Bueckers’ multi-faceted game than that one, or a better example of the amount of fun she’s having. Afterwards, she got to meet actor Shemar Moore, who had a courtside view to her historic performance. That fulfilled a wish she made during All-Star Weekend, and it was clear how much it meant to her.
That game was the perfect microcosm of the Wings’ season, because although Bueckers showed out with an all-time great game, the team still lost on a Kelsey Plum runner to beat the buzzer. It’s going to be fun to see how the Wings surround Bueckers with helpful pieces in the coming years, because it’s clear that she’s the kind of foundational player who can lead a team to a title.
