How Paige Bueckers’ Increased Three-Point Attempts Could Significantly Raise Her Ceiling In WNBA

The Indiana Fever defeated the New York Liberty in its first-ever pre-season game and welcomed the Wings on April 30. While the fans expected a similar outcome, Paige Bueckers and co. took over the game right from the start and managed to put the home side under pressure, to clinch the victory at the end.

Apart from Caitlin Clark’s injury in the third quarter, another thing that caught the attention of everyone else was the change of approach by the Wings’ 2025 Rookie as she took a high volume of three pointers in the game. While the ‘experiment’ worked for the franchise in the first game, it could also take the player’s stats to another level.

Paige Bueckers To Take Her Game To Next Level

After a bottom-place finish in the 2025 season, the Dallas Wings added firepower with some strategic additions to the roster. Although their 2025 rookie was still a center of offense, the reinforcement gave her a chance to play more aggressively and take more three pointers to make more impact.

The player took six three-pointers in the first half only against the Fever team, where she averaged three three-pointers per game last season. This change was intentional and helped the team to open up the opposition defense.

Paige Bueckers tonight 🔥

• 20 points
• 3 assists
• 4/6 3PM
• 8/12 FG
• 20 minutes played pic.twitter.com/k9F6hCx3eu

— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 1, 2026

“I think it just opens everything up, as a team we want to get more threes up. I think that’s an emphasis we put on at the beginning of the year,” Bueckers said in the press conference.

---

“It provides better spacing on offense, allows us to get to the rim more…it’s hard to guard with a whole bunch of action, and that leads to wide open threes but also getting out in transition helps with wide open threes and pushing the pace, so it’s really been an emphasis for our entire team to be aggressive from the three-point line and coach has given us the green light to be confident in doing that,” she added.

With Arike Ogunbowale and PB taking out the defenses, Azzi Fudd, Alanna Smith, and co. will find an open lane to score. Moreover, both Buckers and Arike could also drive with an occasional ‘fake’. Their high-volume attempt will also speed up the game, which is a more preferable option for the young Dallas team.

Coach Jose Fernandez Praises Paige Bueckers’ Decision Making

The Wings’ new coach already listed Bueckers’ qualities that make her a coachable star in the roster, and now, after the win in his very first game, the coach is ready to praise his mega star again.

“I thought in a lot of things she made really, really good decisions with her hands on the ball and also off the ball,” first-year Wings head coach Jose Fernandez said.

The coach, though, found some areas of improvement for the team, was happy with the performance, and will look for similar outcomes in the upcoming game against the Aces.