Dallas Wings Rookie Paige Bueckers Named WNBA All-Star Starter
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers was named a starter for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game on Sunday, earning the honor in her first professional season.
Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, becomes the latest rookie to break through into the league’s brightest spotlight, joining Caitlin Clark, Allisha Gray, and Sabrina Ionescu in the backcourt pool of All-Star starters. Clark and Napheesa Collier were named team captains for the July 19 matchup in Indianapolis, determined by fan vote.
Bueckers has averaged 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game this season, leading all rookies in both points and assists while ranking among the league’s top 15 overall. She’s recorded six games with at least 20 points — four of those coming in her last five outings — and set career highs with 35 points at Phoenix on June 11 and 10 assists at Minnesota on May 21. Her poise, creativity, and court vision have quickly made her the offensive engine for a Wings team navigating key injuries and transitions.
Her ascent has been swift but no surprise to those around the league who tracked her decorated college career and elite pedigree. Bueckers became the fastest player in WNBA history to tally 200 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists — reaching the mark in just 11 games — and has remained remarkably efficient while shouldering a heavy workload.
Fan support for Bueckers was strong — she finished second among guards in fan voting and ranked in the top five in the media and player tallies. Her weighted score of 3.25 was the best among all backcourt players.
“It means a lot,” Bueckers said. “I feel like I have a lot of people who go to bat for me. To have people who really know and understand the game respect what I do, that’s meaningful. I’m not sure how the voting worked exactly, but to do well across the board—it definitely means a lot.”
Still, the 23-year-old made clear that she doesn’t view the honor as a destination.
“I don’t live by anybody else’s expectations or what I’m supposed to look like,” Bueckers said. “I go out there and play every single game and possession for what it is. The results may vary, and whatever they look like on any given night, I live with them.”
Asked where that mental approach comes from, Bueckers credited years of inner work and focus on perspective.
“A lot of mental work—framing my thoughts and perspective on basketball and life,” she said. “Running my own race and not looking to the side to see what anyone else is doing. Just being where my feet are. People probably get tired of me saying that, but that’s my motto: focus on myself and how I can make others better. It’s the best way to maximize life.”
The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will air July 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC, Disney+, and ESPN+ from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The full pool of reserves, selected by league head coaches, will be announced July 6.
More Dallas Wings & WNBA Articles
- Dallas Wings Trade NaLyssa Smith to Las Vegas Aces, Waive Kaila Charles
- Dallas Wings Set Luisa Geiselsöder and Teaira McCowan to Active After EuroBasket
- Dallas Wings Waive Haley Jones as Hardship Contract Runs Out
- “We Had to Be Ready”: Dallas Wings Overcome Injuries and Back-to-Back Test to Beat Washington Mystics
- “Extremely Cautious”: Chris Koclanes Shares Injury Updates on Paige Bueckers, DiJonai Carrington
- Dallas Wings Rule Out Paige Bueckers vs. Washington Mystics With Knee Injury; DiJonai Carrington Doubtful
- “We Wanted to Put on a Show”: Dallas Wings Fall Short Against Indiana Fever in Historic Night at American Airlines Center
