Caitlin Clark hit 500 points in just 29 games. Angel Reese? She needed 38. And now, here comes Paige Bueckers, who just joined that list after the Wings’ heartbreaking 96-97 loss to the Sparks. Plum missed two free throws, giving Dallas a final chance after a jump ball. Paige Bueckers sprinted up the floor and fired a contested three at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out, leaving the Wings heartbreakingly short. The defeat stung, but the night was historic for Bueckers, and that’s definitely worth celebrating. Right?

Paige Bueckers became the fastest rookie in WNBA history to notch 500 points, 100 assists, and 100 rebounds, trailing only Cynthia Cooper overall. Her 29-point outing pushed her to the milestone, making her just the 22nd rookie ever to do it. And get this—no one in Wings history has ever hit 500 points faster than Paige, who did it in only 27 games. But it seems she is not bothered by her individual achievements. Her focus lies on the team.

Bueckers was asked in the postgame presser if she ever takes a moment to reflect on what she’s done for the Wings. Her answer was classic Paige—completely downplaying her own milestone and flipping it back to the team.

“Yeah, it’s hard to reflect when you’re in the middle of it, cuz you’re just so focused on what every day looks like for you. And… as a team, it’s never ‘how many points are you going to score,’ it’s ‘how can we contribute to winning on any given night, whether it’s zero points or 10 points or 20 points’. So for me, it’s just all about how can I be the best teammate and how can I be the best leader, and how can we all contribute to winning. So… that’s really all the reflection is about.”

This isn’t the first time Paige Bueckers has put the team ahead of herself. When asked how she deals with the unique pressures of being the No. 1 draft pick in her rookie season, she didn’t even flinch. “Basically by not paying attention to any other expectations other people put on me,” Bueckers told VIS postgame. “I just try to be the best version of myself I can be for my team at the end of the day.” Even as a rookie, she’s stepped right into a leadership role—leaning on the vets when needed but also finding her own voice in the process.

Her teammates and coaches have made that transition even smoother. “They just welcome me with open arms and embrace who I am,” Bueckers said. “They allow me to be me, be confident in myself, and instill confidence within me. Feeling comfortable in who I am and using my voice is something they help with a lot.”

In a league where rookies are usually expected to sit back and watch, Bueckers is rewriting that story—quietly shifting the narrative and already drawing those inevitable Clark comparisons.

Paige Bueckers shines, but Caitlin Clark’s shadow still looms

Paige Bueckers has been rewriting history with the Dallas Wings, but the comparisons with Caitlin Clark keep following her everywhere. On Friday night, Bueckers recorded her 8th game with 20+ points and 5+ assists, tying Arike Ogunbowale for the second-most by a rookie in WNBA history. The only player ahead of her? Caitlin Clark, who already has 18 such games. In that same matchup, Bueckers notched her 143rd assist, passing Odyssey Sims’ franchise rookie record of 142 set back in 2014 when the team was still the Tulsa Shock.

By the end of the night, she was averaging 18.8 points and 5.4 assists, ranking seventh and eighth in the league. Yet again, the shadow of Clark looms—because in WNBA history, only 10 players have ever averaged at least 18 points and 5 assists for a season, and Clark remains the only rookie to do so before Bueckers.

Bueckers made WNBA history against the Dream, as the league announced she had surpassed Hall of Famer Sue Bird for the second-most games with at least 15 points and five assists by a rookie. It was the 11th time this season Bueckers reached that mark. Passing a legend like Bird is no small feat, but even this milestone comes with a reminder of the standard set by Caitlin Clark, who still holds the all-time record with 30 such games in her rookie campaign—nearly triple Bueckers’ total.

The milestones haven’t stopped coming, and maybe she comes close to Clark later in the season, because she has broken Clark’s records before. Against the Mystics, Bueckers hit a 27-foot three with 4:06 left in the first quarter, marking her 450th career point. She grabbed her 100th rebound in the same game, making her the fastest rookie in league history to hit 450 points, 100 rebounds, and 100 assists.

Still, when it comes to sustained production, Clark’s rookie campaign set an almost unreachable bar. As Paige herself once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy. So it’s just focusing on myself, how I can better myself, how we can better the team, and just losing myself in others.” Yet for now, no matter how many records Bueckers stacks up, the measuring stick remains Caitlin Clark.