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Dallas Wings rookie and former UConn standout Paige Bueckers was officially named the 2025 WBNA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Bueckers received 70 of the possible 72 first-place votes for the honor. Sonia Cintron of the Mystics received the other two.

The announcement came in an unusual way, as Bueckers was surprised by league commissioner Cathy Engelbert at the at The Jennifer Hudson Show in Burbank, California. Bueckers was doing a tunnel walk on her way to the stage when Engelbert handed her the trophy.

Although Dallas had a rough year (finishing 10-34 and missing the playoffs), Bueckers' performance all season was worthy of the honor. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft set a new franchise rookie scoring record while averaging 19.2 points per game, which was the fifth highest mark in the WNBA this season.

One of the strongest parts of Bueckers' game is how efficient she was, as demonstrated by her 47.7 shooting percentage from the field -- the second-highest percentage among all guards. Bueckers also finished top 10 in the league in assists (5.4) and steals (1.6) per game. Deservingly, the WNBA described her as "one of the most dynamic rookies the league has ever seen."

Paige Bueckers justified the hype in record-setting rookie campaign despite missing playoffs
Isabel Gonzalez
Paige Bueckers justified the hype in record-setting rookie campaign despite missing playoffs

She had a lot of impressive moments through her 2025 season, but what likely sealed the deal for the end of year honor was her 44-point performance on Aug. 20 against the Los Angeles Sparks. That was the highest scoring game by any player this season and also tied the single-game WNBA rookie scoring record. That in itself was an impressive accomplishment, but Bueckers also became the first player in league history to register 40+ points while shooting 80% or better from the field.

It has been quite the year for Bueckers, who went from winning a national championship with UConn in April, to becoming the seventh former UConn player to receive the ROY honor. She joins Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011), Breanna Stewart (2016), Napheesa Collier (2019) and Crystal Dangerfield (2020).

Bueckers is also the second Wings player to win the award since the franchise moved to Dallas in 2016. She joins Allisha Gray, who took it in 2017.