2025 first overall pick Paige Bueckers has been named the WNBA’s rookie of the year it was announced on Tuesday.
Bueckers nearly earned unanimous honours, earning 70 out of a possible 72 first place votes from the league’s media panel, with Washington’s Sonia Citron earning the other two 1st place nods. The UConn product becomes the 7th Husky to win the award joining Crystal Dangerfield, Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, and Diana Taurasi.
Across 36 games for the Dallas Wings, Bueckers averaged 19.2pts/3.9reb/5.4ast/1.6stl per contest, to along with a .477 field goal percentage, and 33.1% from beyond the arc. The 23 year old becomes the 16th number 1 overall pick to win the award since it became an annual honour in 1998.
Bueckers was surprised by league Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who presented her with the award at a taping of the Jennifer Hudson Show earlier today.
Despite adding Bueckers to their lineup, Dallas once again struggled on the court this season, posting a 10-30 record to miss the playoffs. As a result, they will once again be in the draft lottery mix and have the best odds to earn the number 1 selection at 40% given their 19-65 combined record from 2024 and 2025.
As a result, they’ll once again have a top pick no matter how the ping pong balls land this year, giving them a chance to select one of Lauren Betts (UCLA, C), Olivia Miles (TCU, PG), Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU, SG), or Bueckers former UConn teammate Azzi Fudd.
The draft lottery will be determined after the conclusion of the 2025 WNBA season, with draft night slated for April of 2026.
Photo: John Mac. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.