Paige Bueckers seemed destined for everything. She arrived in Dallas as the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, already a champion, a national name, and fully expecting her UConn dominance to carry straight into the pros. But within weeks, reality hit harder than she imagined. The league was faster, tougher, and far less forgiving, and it isn’t easy to carry the Dallas Wings as it felt with the Huskies.

“Yeah, it’s hard. I went from being the vet or the senior on the team to where everybody looked to me as the voice, as the leader, to where I’m coming into a new organization with a lot of new coaching staff, mostly new team, new GM. and I’m a rookie,” The Dallas Wings’ rookie opens about how hard it is to make a place in a professional hierarchy.

Though Bueckers played well at an individual capacity, scoring an average of 19.2 points per game, to succeed in the W, you need to lead the team, than just personal hits. Her 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds suggest that she works in a very different way than she did in Connecticut, where she was the main ball-handler and set up offensive plays.

Bueckers has to deal with the psychological effects of having less power in team structures, besides making statistical adjustments. At the end of the day, she is still that young teen, learning her way out.

“I’m learning every single day what it looks like to show up to work every day. Be an adult. I had an eye appointment yesterday and a dentist appointment yesterday, and I went to them by myself without my parents. So, like it’s a learning process.”

There’s no secret that at the pro-level, it is not just about playing basketball but balancing with the daily chaos. Bueckers’ problems as a rookie, though, are happening at the worst possible time.

The WNBA is in the midst of a cold phase between the players and the leadership. The players and the owners are engaged in a harsh disagreement regarding the salaries, and the negotiations have been rescheduled for January 2026, with a shutdown coming (an extreme step, though). Other leagues, like Project B, are offering as much as $2 million, which is twice times WNBA’s highest salary.

Now, according to Ben Pickman of The Athletic, “A resolution about continued negotiations is expected by Sunday’s deadline — after one more meeting between the parties. If the sides elect not to reach another extension, a work stoppage would still not take effect immediately.”

“The sides would instead enter a period of status quo, which would keep working conditions the same and continue to allow players to use team facilities and receive medical benefits. However, at any point, the players’ union or league could announce a work stoppage. They can also continue negotiating in the status quo period. They could still agree to another extension by Sunday’s deadline.”

Players want a real share of the league’s growing profits, not just small raises. This instability makes Bueckers’s already hard transition even harder. She’s trying to get settled in Dallas while the whole league is on the verge of a work stoppage that could ruin everything she’s working on.

Paige Bueckers finds new opportunities amid WNBA’s transition struggles

Bueckers, on the other hand, isn’t going to sit around and wait for the WNBA to get better. She’s already looking for new opportunities while the league’s owners and players fight over money. Bueckers was seen in the Wellball VIP League in Dallas. This is a new sport made just for top shooters. Bueckers stays sharp, visible, and valuable by playing everywhere because the WNBA’s future is uncertain, and other leagues offer big paydays.

Wellball is basketball in its most basic form. The league says, “Wellball is the pickleball of basketball—a fast, competitive, and skill-based shooting sport where precision beats athleticism.”

Wellball made a big deal out of her signing by saying, “Paige Bueckers, 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year and NCAA National Champion, will be participating in the Wellball VIP League event in Dallas. This is a historic moment, as Paige becomes the first WNBA player to compete in Wellball.” But will these distractions help fans and players lose the CBA focus?