With all the votes counted in, what seemed clear for a long while has been finally confirmed: Paige Bueckers is the WNBA Rookie of the Year. While she was always the favorite for the award, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen’s valiant fight throughout the season made things interesting for a while. There were even some analysts backing Sonia Citron for the award, provided the Washington Mystics make it to the playoffs. However, with Mystics fading away at the end and Paige Bueckers’ epic 44-point game, all doubts were put to rest.

Just a few days ago, Paige was named the AP Rookie of the Year, and now, with 70 votes out of 72, Bueckers has added another feather to her cap. With the number of records she had broken, there wasn’t much of a surprise for many. What was surprising was that she did not become the league’s first-ever unanimous ROTY. But nevertheless, the fact remains that she is the ROTY with one of the most one-sided results. And after we look at the records that she broke this year, it’s easy to understand why.

For starters, with her Rookie of the Year award, she has entered an elusive list of five players to win an NCAA Championship, being selected as the first overall pick, and win the Rookie of the Year in the same calendar year.

While being one of five may not seem like a big deal, when we see the company she’s in, it becomes clear as to why this is so important and historic. All the rest of the players went on to have, or are in the process of having, Hall of Fame-worthy careers. While it may be too early to call her Hall of Fame-worthy, if she can continue the trajectory she’s on, she certainly will be.

Another impressive record that she set was the single-game rookie scoring record (44 points against the LA Sparks). Leading her team from the front, Paige eventually ended the year as the top 10 in both points and assists in the entire league. Considering the poor shooting display of the rest of the Dallas Wings (11th in the league), her being near the top of the assists chart shows that she is not only a generational scorer but also an incredible playmaker.

Her performances did not go unnoticed, as she gained a lot of popularity as well. In fact, when it came to the All-Star Weekend, not only was she named a starter, but she also broke the record of most fan votes received by a rookie. Like many of Caitlin Clark’s records that she broke this year, this was yet another one in the list. However, with all the great records that she broke this year, there were also some unwanted records set by her this year. Although, to be fair, not all of them were completely her fault.

One such unwanted record that no player wants to associate themselves with. However, Paige Bueckers’ name has been added to the Dallas Wings’ historically poor season. With the Dallas Wings ending their season at 10-34, Paige Bueckers became the first Rookie of the Year winner to win fewer than 10 wins (she did not appear in one of the Wings’ wins). Though there is no doubt about Paige Bueckers’ talent and her hunger to win, for Dallas, it seemed like nothing (except Paige Bueckers and JJ Quinerly) worked this year.

Another one of Paige Bueckers’ achievements left a shadow during the 2025 All-Star Weekend. Coming into the game as a starter and probably the most electric player in the game, Paige could only manage to score six points. After Caitlin Clark missed the game due to injury, all eyes were on Paige Bueckers to put on a show. However, she could not perform at her highest level and only managed to make two shots.

During the season, many records set by Caitlin Clark were broken. Most of them, by Paige Bueckers. However, there was one record that someone else beat her to. In a game against the Sparks, Sonia Citron’s 12-point performance broke the record of most double-digit games as a rookie. It was Sonia’s 36th such game, and this record was exactly why some were still giving her the edge over Paige Bueckers, until, of course, the 44-point explosion happened.

With so many records broken, it is actually a surprise that she was not named as the unanimous ROTY. But if we look closer at things, it may give us some understanding of why.

Why Was Paige Bueckers Not Named as the Unanimous Rookie of the Year?

-375. That was the odds given to Paige Bueckers to win the ROTY even before she had dribbled a ball. Her closest competitor for the award was none other than Sonia Citron, but her odds of winning were a steep +900. While it is true that Paige Bueckers did eventually win the award in a dominant fashion, many believe that she deserved to win it unanimously. But considering all the factors, Sonia Citron getting two votes was the deserved result.

First, let’s look at the obvious: how the team performed. The Washington Mystics ended the season with a 16-28 record. While it doesn’t seem like much, it was significantly better than how the Dallas Wings performed. In fact, until the last few games of the regular season, the Mystics were still in contention for making it to the playoffs. Yes, it is true the Rookie of the Year award is more of an individual award, but, in the mind of voters, how much the player influenced winning makes a big difference.

In terms of pure numbers, it is black and white that Paige Bueckers, with her 19.2 points per game, had an edge. But in their matches against each other, Sonia Citron actually held the edge. Though they only faced twice this season, Sonia averaged 22.5 points per game compared to Paige’s 18.5. Also, it didn’t help Paige Bueckers’ cause that she lost both matchups against Sonia’s Mystics.

While Paige Bueckers’ Rookie of the Year award is well deserved, it shouldn’t take away from the fact that Sonia Citron gave her a good fight. If we consider the precedent set last year, even Caitlin Clark, with all her records and even leading her team to the playoffs, could not win the ROTY unanimously, it is not a huge shock that Paige also didn’t.

Regardless, with the ROTY sorted, it will be interesting to see if Paige Bueckers wins some more awards and how the Dallas Wings figure out their roster to prepare Paige Bueckers for a deep playoff run in her sophomore year.