Dallas Wings huffed and puffed to reach double digits in their win column. In their 44th game of the season against the Phoenix Mercury, they finally got their 10th win to improve from their 2024 tally of 9 wins, marginally. It was not without reason, as the inexperienced Wings were dealt an unprecedented injury crisis. With the season now officially in the rearview mirror, fans and analysts are praying this won’t be consistent, especially when it pertains to the shining diamond, Paige Bueckers.

“I feel like there’s so many different things that have captivated what we’ve been through as a team and how much we’ve overcame,” Bueckers said, reflecting on the season. What did they ‘overcome’? 5 season-ending injuries, 18 different starting lineups, and 77.3% of games with 10 or fewer players. What the Wings “overcame” is staggering: constant lineup shuffling, nights without a full rotation, and the pressure of leaning on a first-year guard. Yet Bueckers wove her magic anyway. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.4 steals, sprinkling in multiple highlight-reel performances that locked her as Rookie of the Year.

Ros Gold Onwude said on the ‘Good Follow Podcast’, “The thing with Paige is that I’m just excited to see her putting consecutive healthy seasons together, which she never really had the chance to do in much of her career. And so like, imagine her finally getting a break this off-season, a chance to rest, then a chance to work out and Unrivaled, and then come back. I pray for health. And like the future’s very bright for Paige.”

The fitness was the only star mark for Bueckers even when she arrived at the 2025 Draft. Just like she has done in the WNBA, the guard exploded as a freshman for UConn, earning a litany of awards from the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year, USBWA Player and Freshman of the Year, among countless others. But then came the injuries, a tibial plateau fracture and partial tear of the lateral meniscus of her left knee on December 5, 2021, for which she had to undergo surgery. Bueckers returned in February 2022 but tore her ACL in her left knee in August. 

“I want to be the type of player that I was before, pre-injury, but better,” Bueckers said after returning to UConn. And for two seasons, she was leading Geno Auriemma’s Huskies to a Final Four and their first national title in a decade, while staying largely healthy.

The knee was enough for her to miss only one game, so it’s fair to say Bueckers has learned how to ‘manage’ it. Bueckers leaped into the WNBA just weeks after winning the national championship, and now she finally has time to breathe. Compared to College ball and the W, the Unrivaled seems more fun than work for Bueckers, but Bueckers knows how it really is. 

Unrivaled raises red flags for Paige Bueckers’ injury watch

Unrivaled was always on the road for Paige Bueckers. In her senior year at UConn, she signed on for ownership equity in Unrivaled. The league has fast-tracked its plans to expand because of outperforming their expectations in year 1 and is bringing in 2 two new teams, Breeze Basketball Club and Hive Basketball Club, taking the total to 8. The league is experiencing a massive financial boom with a $340 million valuation. Fresh league or not, Bueckers says Unrivaled is no cakewalk, which could affect her long-term injury woes. 

But Unrivaled’s debut season wasn’t without hiccups. Multiple injuries across teams forced a Laces BC vs. Vinyl BC game cancellation and prompted the league to shorten its 1-on-1 tournament. Several WNBA GMs privately voiced concern about the intensity, practices, and condensed schedule.

According to DallasHoopsJournal.com’s Grant Afseth, Bueckers weighed in on the format. “It’s really challenging because it’s basically one-on-one in space,” she said. Bueckers further explained, “It challenges your defense and your ability to sit down and guard, keep people in front of you. Offensively, it just helps you be able to create in isolation, create space. And it’s a lot of technique too. I mean, there’s a lot of three-man action in a five-on-five basketball game.”

Yes, the Unrivaled is a great way to warm up for a full-fledged WNBA season. Since it’s a new league, the stakes are lower and the players get to start their engines with something close to full-court basketball with an element of fun. However, along with focusing on how the 3v3 helps Bueckers, she will also be careful considering the 2025 history. Multiple General Managers have professed concerns about injuries in Unrivaled. “They were surprised by the intensity, duration and amount of practices,” a GM said of Unrivaled.

The likes of Alyssa Thomas, Marina Mabrey, Angel Reese, and many others suffered injuries over the course of its debut season. The league had to cancel a game between the Laces and the Vinyl because of multiple absences in the Laces squad due to injuries. The injuries also forced the league to shorten its 14-game 1v1 tournament to just 8 games. While Bueckers enjoys the competition of the exciting 3v3 format, her injury history makes it prudent to be careful. 

Dallas fans, and much of the WNBA, will be watching too. The Wings’ 10 wins in 2025 may feel small, but if Bueckers stays healthy and Dallas builds wisely, this season could one day be remembered not for its losses, but for the moment the franchise’s future truly took shape.