“It’s just clear,” Chris Koclanes said before their Los Angeles Sparks matchup, “She’s rookie of the year. There’s no questions.” While Koclanes advocated for her girl, there were questions about Sonia Citron surging in the recent weeks. However, Bueckers silenced her doubters, dropping a 44-point, 3-assist, and 3-rebound performance. Paige Bueckers matched Cynthia Cooper’s legendary rookie single-game scoring record, an iconic mark set in the WNBA’s inaugural 1997 season, while cementing her place among the all-time greats.

However, among drafted rookies, Bueckers stands alone, going past Candace Parker’s 40-point effort in 2008. “Paige was unbelievable tonight,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said after the game. Bueckers got the entire Basketball Community talking with that performance. While she broke some more records with her stat line, this one does not look good for the Dallas Wings. 

According to Across the Timeline, Bueckers tied Diana Taurasi and Betty Lennox for the third most points scored in a game while ending up on the losing side. Lauren Jackson’s 47-point performance against the Mystics in 2007 and Katie Smith’s 46-point show against the Sparks are the only two that are ahead. It’s a tough reality when stellar performances like these only highlight the glaring deficiencies of the rest of the team.

“Wings need to find some offense other than PB5.” Wrote Azi Fudd’s father as the team struggled to put some distance between them and the Sparks. The team has become Bueckers-centric, as without her, this game was never going to be close, like many. Leaving Bueckers’ stats out, the rest of the team combined for 1 point and three turnovers in the fourth quarter of this game while Bueckers had 13 on her own. The UConn graduate is the best scorer, passer, off-ball mover, rebounder, and defender on her team. She does have Arike Ogunbowale to provide her with some support. Unfortunately, even Arike has been marred by injuries and was not available for this game. Coach Chris Koclanes accepted that Bueckers is carrying most of the load, but Arike’s absence affected the result, too. 

Talking about his veteran, he said after the game, “At times out there, you know Paige isn’t going, it’s like you know where where are we’re getting that extra punch from. Um, so to be able to have another score alongside her, just you know, opens up the floor even more for everybody.”

In the entire Wings squad, only 4 average in double digits. Out of those, DiJonai Carrington was traded to the Lynx, and Arike was unavailable. Maddy Siegrist delivered right around her average with her steady 13 points, but beyond her, no one else managed to break double digits. While the pieces of a good team are there in this young squad, not everyone is there yet. Buecker is not dwelling on their losses, as she had some words of encouragement for her squad after the game. It could even be good for her game to be the center of the system at the early stages of her career. Bueckers herself described has her premier weapon as ‘unguardable’. 

Paige Bueckers Reveals How Her Midrange Game Creates an Unfair Edge

Paige Bueckers’ midrange game is truly unparalleled. That has been the reason many see her game as completely unique. Arike termed it as the thing that would make her stand among the best in the game. When asked what quality Bueckers has to succeed in the long term in the WNBA, she replied, “The midi, like, she got the midi perfected. Like it’s so clean too,” Logically, preferring the midrange makes little sense. You can go to the rim to make a lay-up, which is easier to make. Or you can go for a high-risk shot from downtown, which gets you three points. However, Bueckers gave her reasoning for going hard on her butter-like mid-range shot.  

Bueckers told the media after the Sparks matchup, “Yeah, I think truly, basketball’s gotten away from it. Um, and it’s mostly layups and threes. So, it’s really hard to guard. Teams don’t know how to guard it and have counters for it. Um, so I think it’s an advantage if you can score in the mid-range. You obviously don’t want to settle. You want to get to the rim. You want to shoot threes. Um, but being able to score in that middle area is important as well.”

Well, there you have the reason. It’s like the players have forgotten that midrange exists. Guarding against it has become more difficult as they aren’t prepared for a player like Bueckers to push so hard from that previously unseen area. She is almost just as good from outside and driving in the paint, but her midrange gives her a three-level opportunity like no other. Against Sparks, she had 21 shots, out of which she only shot 4 from the three. 

But she made all four of her three-pointers. A perfect representation of how she likes to play. Across the season, she shoots 46% from the midrange, which is the most accurate in the league. She has the volume too, attempting 5.8 per game from that area, which is the second most across the league. This is like a forgotten art Bueckers is reviving, but a bigger test will come in her sophomore season, where her opponents will be better prepared for her mid. Bueckers will be up for it as she continues to develop with the Wings