Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers has been honored as the 2025 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year, capping off a debut season that made clear she might be one of the most dynamic newcomers the league has seen. 

Drafted first overall in April, Bueckers earned 70 of 72 first-place votes in a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters; only Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron received the other two. 

Her statistics over 36 games were impressive: she averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting about 47-percent from the field and nearly 89-percent from the free throw line. 

Among her many achievements this season:

She led all rookies in total points (692) and total assists (194), as well as per-game averages in those categories.  She set a rookie single-game scoring record with 44 points in a game against the Los Angeles Sparks on August 20.  She also posted a 30-game streak of double-digit scoring to start her career, the third-longest in WNBA rookie history, behind only A’ja Wilson and Candace Parker. 

Even though the Wings finished the season with a 10-34 record and missed the playoffs, Bueckers’ impact was unmistakable. She not only set franchise rookie records but also placed among the league’s leaders in key categories—scoring, steals, assists—underscoring that her rookie year was more than just promising.