'She's a generational player': Bueckers helping Wings take flight

Arike Ogunbowale knew Paige Bueckers would be a culture-changer from the moment she arrived in Dallas last year.

The four-time All-Star has been through some lean times with the Dallas Wings, including a 9-31 campaign two years ago.

On the surface, the Wings' 10-34 record during Bueckers' rookie season wasn't much of an improvement, but Ogunbowale could already see the tide turning.

"She's just a natural leader," Ogunbowale told theScore. "When she came in last year, we knew she would be a pillar of our franchise. She's easy to follow, easy to get behind. She's a great point guard, great person. So, we're happy that she's on our team.

"She's a generational player. You get everything out of her. You really couldn't ask for more, and she still gives you more."

Dallas now sits fourth in the WNBA standings with a 14-8 mark, just two games back of the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx. The Wings exceeded last season's win total within the first two months of the 2026 campaign.

Bueckers has been at the forefront of the club's turnaround, averaging career bests in points (20), field-goal percentage (51.3%), 3-point percentage (38.1%), and assists (6). Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Plum are the only other players tallying at least 20 points and six dimes per contest.

Bueckers has reached the 20-point plateau on 12 occasions this season, trailing only four-time MVP A'ja Wilson. In late June, the UConn product became the fastest player in league history to register 1,000 points and 250 assists. A week later, she was named an All-Star starter for the second straight year.

The 24-year-old's rapid ascension isn't a surprise to those who've been around her. Azzi Fudd squared off against Bueckers at the AAU level before they became college teammates at UConn and WNBA teammates in Dallas. According to Fudd, the reigning Rookie of the Year is still the same player she's known for years.

"What you see is who Paige is, who she's always been. But it's just up a notch. Fine-tuned. Just a little bit better," Fudd told theScore. "So, you see her confidence on the floor, her knowledge. Her IQ is the best I've played with since I was in high school. Each year, she's gotten better."

Bueckers was a two-way force during her debut campaign, finishing tied for third league-wide in steals per game (1.6), fifth in scoring (19.2), seventh in free-throw percentage (88.8%), and tied for eighth in assists (5.4). She immediately established herself as a premier mid-range threat, too, knocking down the second-most total field goals in that zone (89).

Today, Bueckers remains a dynamic three-level scorer, just with a more balanced shot diet. The 6-foot guard is taking 1.3 more threes per game and has increased her 3-point efficiency by 5%. She's already nearing the 39 above-the-break treys she converted last year and is on pace to make more field goals in the restricted area and the paint.

Some of those close-range looks are a result of the off-ball packages first-year head coach Jose Fernandez designed specifically for Bueckers. The additions of Jessica Shepard, Odyssey Sims, and Sug Sutton have given him multiple ball-handling options and an opportunity to deploy Bueckers as a cutter or screener.

The Wings star's varied attack hasn't diminished her lethal mid-range game one bit. She's converting nearly 4% more of her field-goals attempts on virtually the same volume of shots. None of this is by accident, as Bueckers' offseason training sessions were designed to even out her offensive approach.

"A lot of it is just repetition," Bueckers told theScore. "When I work out, I try to work out at all three levels. Scoring at the rim, scoring in the mid-range, and shooting beyond the arc. So, that was definitely an emphasis to get more threes up, to hunt the 3-point line a little bit more, and be more aggressive that way."

She isn't hesitant to take over games either. Dallas has gone from the worst clutch team last season to the fifth best due in large part to Bueckers' heroics down the stretch.

Bueckers leads her WNBA peers with 123 fourth-quarter points this season and is shooting 50% from beyond the arc and 62.9% overall in the final frame. She's also done a fair amount of that damage in clutch situations, posting the fourth-most points (39) and a 66.7% field-goal percentage.

Wings forward Alysha Clark has played with the likes of Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Sue Bird over the course of her career. And while the 14th-year vet has only been around Bueckers for a few months, she's already blown away by her ability to compartmentalize and close out games as a WNBA sophomore.

"Her ability to ... get herself to a place where, at any moment, she can take over - that's a characteristic that a lot of the greats have," Clark told theScore.

"She could be 0-for-19 and the game is on the line, and she's gonna find a way to make sure we win the game," the three-time WNBA champ added. "I think that winning trait is something that you can't really put your finger on, but you know it when you see it. And she definitely has that."

Bueckers' ability to "elevate everyone else around her" reminds Clark of the stars she won titles with in Seattle and Las Vegas.

As Fudd navigates her own rookie year and the challenges of being a No. 1 overall pick, she appreciates having Bueckers as a resource and complimented her thorough knowledge of teammates' strengths and tendencies. Bueckers knows where Fudd likes to catch the ball coming off a screen and has a feel for when she'll cut to the basket.

Shepard, meanwhile, is enjoying a breakout campaign in her first season with the Wings. The versatile sixth-year forward, who's recorded the league's only three triple-doubles this season, recently earned her maiden All-Star selection. She's quickly formed a "great connection" with Bueckers that has translated into an elite two-woman game.

When Bueckers, Fudd, and Shepard share the floor, Dallas has an offensive rating of 112.6, which is higher than the Las Vegas Aces' top-ranked mark as a team.

"Paige's confidence and her energy is contagious. ... She believes so much in herself but also believes so much in her teammates," Shepard told theScore. "So, I think it kind of lifts everyone up. Even when you're having a bad game, she can make you feel like you're having a better game than you probably are."

Fernandez, who'd never coached in the WNBA prior to this season, couldn't ask for a better player to build around as the Wings inch toward contention.

"She's just who she is," Fernandez told theScore. "She does everything the right way. She takes ownership. She wants to be coached. She wants to lead. When you lead, you hold yourself at the highest standard, and that's what she does."