“You don’t ever wanna assume anything in life. Nothing is guaranteed.” These were the words that came from Paige Bueckers’ mouth moments after being drafted as the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. While it is true that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to professional sports, Paige Bueckers was a virtual lock to be the first overall pick when the 2025 WNBA draft rolled around. And now, with the season winding down, she is again ‘guaranteed’ for yet another WNBA feat. 

With just 11 games remaining in the Dallas Wings’ 2025 season, the races for the end of season awards are also winding down. While the MVP race is heating up, the Rookie of the Year race has a big favorite in Paige Bueckers. BETMGM is giving -5000 odds of her holding the award as the season winds down. Although Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron is trying to make the race a hard one, analysts believe that it is too late to change Paige Bueckers’ destiny. Especially, after a rookie year where she has even left Caitlin Clark behind. 

Putting forth the same sentiment was WNBA analyst Terrika Foster-Brasby. Taking on the We Need To Talk podcast, Terrika argued that despite Sonia Citron’s efforts, Paige Bueckers should be a unanimous ROTY. She said, “Alright. So I’m gonna go ahead and say, I know that Sonia Citron is making it interesting, right? She’s had a really great six-game stretch. But Paige Bueckers should probably still be your unanimous choice.” 

Throughout the recent six-game stretch, Sonia Citron is averaging 17.3 points per game. She is also shooting the lights out with 48.6% from the floor and 43.4% from beyond the arc. Despite this, Paige Bueckers has outshone her. Throughout the same stretch, she is averaging 19.5 points per game. Sure, her shooting numbers are down (46% from floor and 32% from 3-point), but that can be attributed to the extreme attention she’s getting throughout the game. Further solidifying her credentials for the unanimous MVP are the records she has broken. 

In her rookie season, Paige Bueckers has performed at a record-setting pace. She has even managed to break the records set by her last year’s number one pick, Caitlin Clark. Terrika shed attention on a statistic that showed her dominance this year. “If you look back in July, she was the first person in WNBA history to get 350 points and 100 assists in her first 20 games. Like, that’s just not good. Like, that is unprecedented. We’re seeing her do stuff that we haven’t seen rookies do before.” 

Since July, Bueckers has continued her record-breaking season. Just recently, she became the fastest rookie in WNBA history to reach 450+ points, 100+ rebounds, and 100+ assists. But that isn’t the end. She also became the fastest guard to reach 10 career 20-point games since 2006. Even Caitlin Clark was not able to have a rookie year that reached these heights. Not just sportingly, Bueckers even broke a popularity record set by CC. During the 2025 WNBA All-Star voting, Paige Bueckers broke Caitlin Clark’s record of most votes received by a rookie.

Though we have been treated to their on-court battles only once till now, it’s clear that this is a rivalry that is set to dominate the next decade or so in the league. Till now, Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever holds the edge over the Dallas Wings but the future is exciting for this rivalry. 

Paige Bueckers Finally Gets One Over Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever

After the Indiana Fever’s routing of the Chicago Sky, their game against the Dallas Wings was supposed to be a cakewalk. However, the script completely flipped when the game began. Thanks to surging runs by the Dallas Wings at the end of the first and third quarters, the Indiana Fever had a tough task of making a comeback. Thanks to Kelsey Mitchell, this comeback almost happened. 

However, with mere seconds left on the clock, Mitchell was not able to put the cherry on top and missed the shot to win the game. Dallas, even with Paige Bueckers’ missed 15-footer to extend the lead, pulled out a surprising win. This win was Dallas’ first this season over the Indiana Fever. Though both teams are in polar opposite positions, this win was significant. 

The moment Paige Bueckers was drafted in the WNBA, the Dallas Wings vs the Indiana Fever was a game everybody looked out for. In their prior 3 meetings, Fever won with relative comfort. However, in the final meeting, Paige Bueckers’ Wings finally got one over CC’s Fever. Led by Maddy Siegrist’s career-high 22 points and Bueckers’ 16, the Dallas Wings pulled off a narrow 81-80 win. 

Even though the win doesn’t do much to change Dallas’ league standings, it does a lot to worsen Indiana’s situation. With injuries piling on and pressure from teams below increasing, the Indiana Fever need to win every game that, on paper, they should. This loss against the Dallas Wings is a big blow to their bid to make the playoffs with a home-court advantage. 

Although the Dallas Wings are virtually out of the playoff race, they would want to continue to win as many games as possible. Their next challenge, in a bid to end the season on a positive note, is at home vs the Los Angeles Sparks.