For years, one criticism has followed Paige Bueckers, no matter how well she played – she can sometimes be too unselfish. While most star players naturally hunt their own shot when the game is on the line, Bueckers leans more towards passing. But two games into the 2026 season, and the Dallas Wings star is openly admitting that she still wants to improve.

Ahead of Dallas’ third regular-season game, the 24-year-old herself opened up about that mindset and admitted she wants to become more aggressive offensively as the season goes on.

“I feel stuff out first, and then this is obviously a new team, and we didn’t have everybody in preseason,” she said. “So I think I gradually made my way through the first two games of the season. I feel like I can be more aggressive.”

“But not just for me, but also for creating for others. So again, it’s something that I have battled with my whole life… I am just being more selfish, taking more shots, so it’s something that I’m very aware of, and I want to improve on as well,” Paige Bueckers further added.

Be it through her college days or her rookie year in the WNBA, Bueckers built a reputation for being one of the smartest guards. She naturally looks to involve teammates first, whether it’s creating for Azzi Fudd, setting up shooters, or simply making the extra pass. But the issue stems from the fact that sometimes her team needs her to stop looking for the perfect play and simply take over herself.

Let’s give you an example – In Dallas’ recent loss to the Atlanta Dream, the Wings scored only 13 points in the fourth quarter as the offense completely stalled. Though Bueckers finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting (not great but not bad as well), it once again highlighted the balance she is still trying to figure out between facilitating and being aggressive with her own offense.

In fact, through Dallas’ first two games of the season, she held just an 18.1 percent usage rate. In simple terms, that means only 18% of the Wings’ offensive possessions end with her finishing an offensive play.

For a player with her level of talent, that number naturally raised a few eyebrows. But the good news is that just after openly admitting she wanted to become more aggressive, Bueckers has started showing exactly what that version of herself could look like.

Paige Bueckers Finally Flipped the Switch

All it took was one game for Bueckers to stand tall on her words as the 6-foot player delivered her best performance of this season against the Minnesota Lynx.

After averaging 17.5 points and 3.5 assists so far, Bueckers went on to finish her latest game with 27 points and eight assists (both season highs), while shooting 7-of-13 from the field and an impressive 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

From the opening quarter itself, there was a noticeable difference in her approach. She looked far more comfortable attacking gaps, pulling up confidently, and taking control of possessions instead of immediately looking to move the ball. Even while continuing to create for teammates, she played with a much more assertive mindset overall. And honestly, that is exactly the version of Paige Bueckers Dallas needs.

However, individual breakthroughs can only take a team so far, as the Wings still ended up falling short in a close 90-86 loss.

But it is still extremely early in the season. Dallas went through major roster changes over the offseason, and building chemistry with so many new pieces was always going to take time.

Still, if Paige Bueckers continues growing into this more aggressive role while the rest of the roster starts clicking together, the Wings could become a very dangerous team.