Minnesota’s basketball legacy just got another milestone. Paige Bueckers, the Hopkins High School phenom turned UConn champion, has been named the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year after a record-breaking debut season with the Dallas Wings.
Photo by Julio Cortez/AP
Drafted No. 1 overall this spring, Bueckers lived up to every ounce of the hype. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game, leading all rookies in points and assists while ranking among the top 10 league-wide in scoring, playmaking, and steals. On Aug. 20, she etched her name in the record books with a 44-point performance against the Los Angeles Sparks, the most ever by a WNBA rookie in a single game.
Bueckers joins an elite list of UConn alumni to win Rookie of the Year—including Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Breanna Stewart—and becomes the first Dallas Wings player to earn the honor since 2017. Last year’s honor went to none other than Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever.
While the Wings missed the playoffs this season, Bueckers’ record-breaking debut campaign has fans and analysts alike calling her one of the most promising young talents in the game.
