Not too long ago, Paige Bueckers wasn’t just part of the Rookie of the Year conversation—she was the conversation. On May 16, all five ESPN writers, Kevin Pelton, Alexa Philippou, Michael Voepel, M.A. Voepel, and Charlie Creme, unanimously picked Bueckers as their top pick for ROTY. The league’s GMs were on the same page. In the official WNBA GM survey, where team officials aren’t allowed to vote for their own players, 73% of those who answered the Rookie of the Year question chose Bueckers. “This one feels obvious,” ESPN’s Kevin Pelton had said then. And it did. But just 24 days later, that clarity collapsed.

In her first six games with the Dallas Wings, Bueckers was calm, sharp, and commanding. She averaged 14.7 points and 6.7 assists while shooting 43.7% from the field, immediately ranking among the league’s top distributors. Even more telling: she was on track to become the fastest rookie in league history to cross 200+ points, 75+ rebounds, and 75+ assists, if she continued at a modest pace of 14.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 4.4 APG over her next eight games. Only Caitlin Clark and Skylar Diggins have averaged more than 10 points and 6 assists as rookies, and Bueckers was already ahead of that line.

Then came a temporary halt. Due to concussion protocol and illness, Bueckers missed four of the team’s first ten games—a gap that seemed to weigh more heavily on public opinion than on her actual performance. By June 9, ESPN’s panel had changed its mind entirely. 

All four voters now had Kiki Iriafen of the Washington Mystics as their new ROTY pick. Iriafen, the No. 4 overall pick, has been putting up strong numbers too—14.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, shooting 51% from the field. “Per GeniusIQ tracking, Iriafen leads the WNBA in shots made and attempted in the restricted area around the basket,” ESPN wrote in their ROTY update, crediting her second-chance scoring and physical dominance in the paint. They also added that Iriafen is “close to averaging a double-double… something just three true rookies in league history have done: Tina Charles, Cheryl Ford and Angel Reese.”

But here’s where it gets more complicated. While Iriafen may be rebounding well, her playmaking numbers are nearly absent, just 0.9 assists per game and minimal defensive stats. Bueckers, meanwhile, is still top-three in assists across the league, and also ranks 16th in steals with 2 per game. She’s impacting the game on multiple fronts—scoring, passing, defending—even without a solid supporting cast or a winning record.

Even in the same ESPN article where they crowned Iriafen, Pelton added, “Bueckers was at 14.7 points and 6.7 assists before the injury. Only Caitlin Clark and Skylar Diggins have averaged more than 10 points and six assists as rookies.” Yet somehow, that was treated as a footnote. His follow-up—“Bueckers might make a push for the award once she’s back in the lineup”—felt oddly dismissive. It wasn’t just about the word “might,” but the framing. How does someone who’s already outpacing most of the rookie class in efficiency and versatility still end up as an afterthought?

Sure, her team’s record isn’t helping her cause (sitting near the bottom at 1–9), but it’s still jarring to see how quickly the narrative flipped; from unanimous front-runner to outside mention in just over three weeks, without a major dip in form. The numbers are there. But somehow, the spotlight isn’t. Naturally, the fans have something to say about the ROTY snub. 

Fans are up in arms over ESPN’s rankings!

Just a couple of minutes after ESPN released their voting, fans dove into the comment section to voice their frustration with the rankings. “It’s the language used in the article. Saying that Soni ‘has been’ ahead of her and that she ‘might make a push’ is nothing other than disingenuous. We’re talking about PAIGE BUECKERS,” penned one spectator on X.

Well, this fan’s frustration is centered around a section ESPN had added later in the article. It’s under the subhead “Top Challengers to Iriafen,” wherein they’ve listed Kiki’s teammate Sonia Citron and Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers. And maybe, just maybe, fans would have let this go had it not been for Pelton’s “might” and how he included Bueckers as if he were offering her a consolation prize.

Well, first, Pelton wrote, “Iriafen’s toughest competition has been her teammate,” and after that, came the sentence with a ‘meh’ vibe: “No. 1 pick Bueckers might make a push for the award once she’s back in the lineup after missing three games”. Honestly, it is not just in the words, but the hierarchy and placement as well.

Once you say that Citron is a true competitor, you cannot say that Bueckers might make a push when she is already ahead of the top three rookies being considered for the award, as one fan highlighted, “I love that ‘Kiki Iriafen is leading the ROTY race’ and ‘Paige Bueckers is doing something only two other players have done’ are lines in the exact same article”.

According to ESPN, only Caitlin Clark and Skylar Diggins had previously averaged more than 10 points and 6 assists as rookies. Yet, Bueckers had already surpassed both benchmarks, averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 assists per game before her injury. “This ESPN agenda is just weird. Keep doubting Paige like y’all doubted UConn though…” another user chimed in.

Yes, this isn’t the first time Bueckers has been on the receiving end of skepticism. Back in college, UConn wasn’t considered a top contender for the national title, especially against heavyweights like USC, Notre Dame, LSU, and South Carolina. But UConn beat them all, and Bueckers ended her collegiate career with a national championship.“And one thing about Paige Bueckers—she always lives up to expectations,” one fan summed it up perfectly.

Now that she’s being doubted again, fans are expecting her to make a similar impact in the WNBA and surge ahead in the race for Rookie of the Year. And honestly, it’s possible. Why? She is already ranking third in assists per game at 6 APG. The only players ahead of her when it comes to rookie assists records? Caitlin Clark and Ticha Penicheiro. And it doesn’t stop there. Bueckers also ranks 16th in steals per game with 2 SPG.

And while Kiki Iriafen has her name in the rookie FG records at 12th and rebounds records at 6th, Sonia Citron’s name is nowhere to be seen in the WNBA Rookie Records and Leaders. So, Pelton could have used better words, apparently. What do we do now, though? As one user put it best: “Have to wait till she start back playing first!”

And if her track record tells us anything, she’s used to this. When she tore her ACL and missed significant time at UConn, she came back stronger, finishing her college career by topping the program’s records in scoring average (19.9 PPG) and total points (2,439). So, can we expect something similar now? If history repeats itself, the answer is a loud yes.