If someone has to write a perfect WNBA rookie season story, they couldn’t write any better than Paige Bueckers. There’s something very special about the Dallas Wings’ young sensation. And in her very first season in the league, she is sailing as high.
Bueckers lit up the scoreboard in the Wings’ 81-80 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. She dropped a jaw-dropping 44 points to shatter the WNBA rookie single-game scoring record. With Dallas at 9-27 and still searching for consistency, Bueckers’ big night has her fans buzzing, and that’s for all the good reasons.
Paige Bueckers’ Card Tops The Chart After Recent Performance Surge
The No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, Bueckers has been a bright spot all year. She’s averaging 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. Her explosion against the Sparks, where she went 16-of-25 from the field with five threes, showed why she’s the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year at -5000 odds, per BET MGM.
The next closest are Washington Mystics’ Sonia Citron at +2500 and Kiki Iriafen at +3000. Other than this record-breaker, she set off a collector’s rush.
Panini America jumped on the hype, announcing Bueckers’ WNBA Instant cards dropping Friday at 3 p.m. ET, right before Dallas faces the Seattle Storm. The set includes 30 autographed cards at $2,499.99 each, and a one-of-a-kind version inscribed “1st All-Star Game” starting at $15,000 in a Dutch auction.
Panini America will release WNBA Instant cards for Paige Bueckers on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) August 22, 2025
A 1/1 Auto inscribed “1st All Star Game” opens in a Dutch Auction at $15K, with a /30 set also available.
The drop marks her All-Star debut and rookie record 44-point game. pic.twitter.com/LqEJW1MHsv
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These prices put her cards among the priciest in WNBA history, trailing only Caitlin Clark’s $660,000 record sale. Breanna Stewart’s top cards go for $4,800 and $4,049, so Bueckers is in elite company.
Collectors are going nuts, with her market value soaring. Analysts at NorthStar rate her at 81.18/100, just behind Clark’s 90.26, per SportsPro. Her jersey sales are through the roof, and this card release could push her even higher. All of these sounds too good to be true for someone who’s in her early 20s.
Paige Bueckers Making Strong Case For Rookie Of The Season Runner-Up
While she continues to produce exceptional performances for her team, the Dallas Wings are at the bottom of the WNBA league tally, ranked 12th against a total of 13 teams this season. Though there’s hardly any good news for the team, Bueckers has firmly established herself as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year.
Her recent dominant performance against the Sparks leaves little room for debate about her standing in the Rookie of the Year race. She has effectively slammed the door on any notion that Sonia Citron or any other contender could mount a serious challenge.
While Citron has had a commendable run, the UConn Alum’s consistency throughout the season sets her apart. Every game played has seen Bueckers scoring in double digits, with her lowest output being a modest 10 points in her first matchup of the year.