After the end of the 2025 regular season, Paige Bueckers challenged the Dallas Wings’ fans to stick with the team, as the results would be coming. Along with A’ja Wilson, Bueckers won an AP award, proving her words right. Now, the WNBA has also handed her the Rookie of the Year accolade for her splendid performances in the season.
Even though Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron were the closest competition for the ROY accolade, the former UConn star was the clear favorite to win the title. The league confirmed the winner on Tuesday, September 16.
Paige Bueckers Wins The Rookie Of The Year Award
The Dallas Wings’ 2025 number-one draft choice arrived in the league as a title-winning collegian. Though her first season of play in the WNBA was not as productive as she might have liked, the 22-year-old registered individual success and in doing so set several records.
Getting an All-Star nod and topping the franchise in several statistics obviously reveal PB’s impressive first season. Though her team couldn’t crack the top eight of the league standings, the rookie point guard was one of the best players in the league. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.
Paige Bueckers finished fifth in scoring league-wide and ranked in the top 10 in assists and steals. Her season totals included rookie franchise records for points, assists, and double-doubles. She also broke the rookie scoring record with a 44-point burst against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Bueckers received 70 votes from a national panel of 72 sportswriters and broadcasters, becoming only the second Wings player to win the accolade after Chelsea Gray.
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Trending WNBA News
Paige Bueckers is the 2025 WNBA @Kia Rookie of the Year 🏆
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 16, 2025
Averaging 19.2 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.9 RPG, Bueckers led the @dallaswings as one of the most dynamic rookies the league has ever seen.
#KiaROY | #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/VtT01Qwzr0
Earlier in the season, Bueckers earned a spot alongside Caitlin Clark as the only other WNBA player on the iconic rookie record. Now that she has won the Rookie of the Year award, the NCAA champion matched her competitor’s feat.
Paige Bueckers Sets Unwanted Record Winning The Rookie Of The Year Accolade
Winning the Rookie of the Year accolade is one of the prestigious moments for any WNBA entrant. But for the Wings’ star guard, it’s another record, an unwanted one. The Wings finished the season with the season’s worst 10-34 record in the league. The 10 wins are the fewest wins by a rookie of the Year winner’s team in respective years.
Most Wins by a Rookie of the Year:
— Polymarket Hoops (@PolymarketHoops) August 25, 2025
27 — Maya Moore (2011)
24 — Nneka Ogwumike (2012)
23 — Cheryl Ford (2003)
21 — Elena Delle Donne (2013)
20 — Caitlin Clark (2024)
20 — Candace Parker (2008)
18 — Tracy Reid (1998)
18 — Napheesa Collier (2019)
18 — Angel McCoughtry (2009)
17 —… pic.twitter.com/nQcCDeh7dq
Although Paige Bueckers matches Seimone Augustus’s (2002 winner) and Jewell Lloyd’s (2015 winner) number of wins, she actually has the lowest win percentage amongst the winners, with the franchise playing 44 games in the 2025 season. The Wings will be looking to provide ample support to their superstar rookie and improve their standings in the upcoming seasons.