The 2025 WNBA season to this point has been stacked with unexpected developments. The expansion Golden State Valkyries are holding down a playoff spot with a 10-9 record while the Las Vegas Aces, the league’s champions in 2022 and 2023, sit under .500 amid concerns over the team’s identity. Angel Reese has blossomed into a franchise player in Chicago; Caitlin Clark has struggled with injuries in Indiana, where the Fever won the Commissioner’s Cup without her.
In Dallas, Paige Bueckers is assuming a huge share of the offensive burden. That was to be expected; she was the first overall pick in the 2025 draft for a reason. But how much of the load Bueckers has taken on already might represent cause for concern.
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Bueckers ranks fourth in the WNBA in minutes per game (34.8). She played 36 minutes in the Wings’ 87-76 loss to the Sky on Wednesday night and shot a season-worst 25 percent (5-for-20) from the field. Since June 11, Bueckers has played at least 32 minutes in nine out of 10 games, exceeding the 35-minute mark seven times.
Bueckers is leading a rookie-heavy lineup as first-year head coach Chris Koclanes navigates an injury crisis. All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale has missed the past three games with a thumb injury, while 2024 All-Defense selection DiJonai Carrington has missed three weeks with a rib injury.
This has prompted heavy minutes for Bueckers, but has also given Koclanes and general manager Curt Miller an opportunity to see how fellow rookies Ariana James and JJ Quinerly fit around the former UConn star.
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That trio demonstrated its potential last Thursday, when they combined for 68 points as the Wings defeated the Phoenix Mercury — who hold the WNBA’s second-best record.
Even though the Wings appear lottery-bound again, Koclanes remains optimistic about the future in Dallas and Bueckers’ role in leading it. On Sunday, against Clark and the Fever, Bueckers will to balance her offensive aggressiveness with a bit more efficiency as she continues her All Star-worthy debut campaign.
“They’re only going to be better for living through these experiences and getting these experiences,” Koclanes said following the loss in Chicago. “When you look at it that’s a lot of minutes that these players have never logged and what we’re asking them to do. To shoulder the weight of scoring as well.”
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