We didn’t immediately know that there was an all-Tami guy in the store when the Dallas Wing Los Angeles Sparks race began Wednesday night. Paige Bueckers are a few hours away from the WNBA rookie single-game scoring record and have scored 44 points on the 21-shot line. She missed two mid-range jumpers, layups and a desperate left-handed floating point, all of which almost rolled.
But there are early signs. With the score still 3-0 Dallas, the Bueckers pushed the ball to the screen and right, caught up with it and tilted 1-2 from the top of the key. Julie Allemand flew into the airspace. splash.
Bueckers is a basketball pragmatist who directs his belief that technically the right decision is the right decision and one of the greatest shooters. She knows more than 23.2% of her shots come from three. So even if she hasn’t shot and hasn’t broken the sweat, Bueckers also sees Dearica Hamby dropping under the arc and under the can, which is definitely not the look she likes.
More.
Next time she got down, she caught the ball on her left elbow, turning her back to Kelsey Plum about 17 feet from the hoop. Like the rest of us, Bueckers knew she was tall, and Li Zi didn’t. She just rolled over her left shoulder, gradually disappeared, and spinned the jump shot on her companion in the first pick. Bueckers don’t need to sign “too little”, the words actually flash above the plum’s head.
A good start for Paige Bueckers pic.twitter.com/kcjx2bmph8
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) August 21, 2025
A minute later, Bueckers curled the Pindown screen. Even if Hamby is freeing up the driveway to recover the filter, our Golden Boy will not drive the driveway. She just pulled up and shot.
Now I can edit this game and mention it along with Bueckers’ 12% edge frequency. How much has her shooting diet changed to unlock true mastery? It’s a fascinating question, but she’s 3 out of 3 and the ball doesn’t hit the edge. just smile. Exhale.
Later, one person pushed it to the court in two to two. Rickea Jackson waits for her on the wing. That’s why we’re here.
kill.
Bueckers should have a calorie check. It drove her away. She pulled the ball out and slowed down, and after 10 seconds Haley Jones missed the 10-foot fall. I exhale, not very enthusiastic. To take root for Paige Bueckers, you have to accept that she is more restrictive than you. It’s not always easy.
You are Page Booker, You think. You don’t have to pass the ball to Aziaha James because her guard may want to help you with driving. You might even be right, but that’s why she’s Paige Buecker and you’re not.
Five months ago, head coach Geno Auriemma defended ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the sideline for help begging his star player to take over the game.
UConn continued to win 78-64. The Bueckers ended with 31 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and two blocks.
Lmaoooo, Geno thinks maybe Holly Rowe should talk to Paige Bueckers to get her to take over the game pic.twitter.com/luzx62qu3d
– CJ Fogler🫡 (@cjzero) March 29, 2025
Maybe, you think Bueckers should shoot every time. Given the wings’ support lineup, this isn’t the craziest position. But the killer instinct is there.
Of the 105 WNBA players who have played at least five “clutch” games this season, you might be surprised that the Bueckers are the most aggressive figure. She scored 34 shots on the property of 100 clutch and put Dallas’ fate in her own hands for a third of the time.
The fires always burn inside, but she was most fascinating when the bueckers spread into her eyes. And it’s not always needed until the clutch.
She was trapped on the sideline early in the second quarter, perhaps fouled with the ball’s boundaries after Dallas turned a six-point lead into a seven-point deficit on the bench. Spark ball. Dallas head coach Chris Koclanes made a foul and it could be worse to give Los Angeles a free view if the call to Bueckers (she) didn’t infuriate.
Soon after, she pushed the ball to the right wing. Jackson met her again. Cameron Brink and a few other sparks are the same on defense, which isn’t a quick break. Maybe this is the challenge Bueckers want. Attack, stop, swing.
It’s getting more and more real. She missed two shots in the half game but was choosing and choosing her own position, unwilling to admit that every place was her place. By the start of the fourth quarter, she had 31 points. Dallas rose seven and she still missed only two shots. It is real.
I miss it. I’m already writing about Paige Bueckers, but only in theory. I’m writing about one of the most versatile scoring prospects ever in WNBA, doing great in any coverage in any action while floating seamlessly. Edited and STAT after statistics. Put down the coverage, trap, go left, and go right. My brain was blown up and my eyes were glazed. I’m going to take a walk.
Designed to capture this moment, you might miss it. One of the rookies the Bueckers plays in any sport, perhaps the best shooting performance ever. She surrendered to the opportunity we knew we could see, taking pictures of ourselves.
Yes.
The whole court caught fire while sweeping around it, gliding towards the celebration and admitting yes, that’s what we all see. I slid through the door and floated on the bed. I let myself bathe now. Here is everything I think it will be based on:
The Bueckers are hotter than the Hot and have almost no Sparks’ defense capabilities. But it’s not just the ball in the net. The above score versatility is impossible to miss.
Midway through the fourth quarter, she sealed the Allemand to the floor, but the admission pass never arrived. no problem. Bueckers ran out of pindown and nailed three from the right wing. Apart from annoying sighs, Allemand was too tired.
I sit upright with the combination of footwork and processing when the Bueckers are stringed together. There are very few movements from east to west, only moving towards the edge. Yes, she is a coach’s dream, has a great understanding of the coverage of the ball screen she faces, and often uses it to create an open look for others. But on Wednesday, Azurá Stevens was just another obstacle to the edge:
Paige uses these manipulation/step counters to get Azurá on the ball screen, all the way to the edges is my favorite part of last night: pic.twitter.com/uwgzodzsxs
— Lucaskaplan (@lucaskaplan_) August 21, 2025
Bueckers aren’t just cooking in pickups. She wasn’t upset by the digging or stunts of the spark defenders in the cracks, but instead swallowed up all the space in front of her. If it disappears, she becomes creative:
Page plays in the dig, yes pic.twitter.com/gswhvuwgrv
— Lucaskaplan (@lucaskaplan_) August 21, 2025
There are 148 WNBA players with at least 100 minutes of record this season. According to PBP statistics, Bueckers had the lowest shot quality, with an expected effective shot score of 43. this Model Without considering contact time or dribbling count, Dallas relies on her to smash the rocks. That’s her goodness. Even if she knows her bad shots, she is a good person.
She scored another 13 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. The bets are low here, but I can’t help but think of LeBron James’ monumental performance in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. You know that; he scored the last 25 points. This young star is so talented that their selflessness is seen as a flaw, reaching the way we want it to be. You are the right play.
But on Wednesday, Dallas lost. In the last property of the Wings, Cocranes chose not to bring filters to the bueckers. This is the right call, double teams are not allowed. She drove correctly, at least with Rae Burrell, if not a step ahead.
kill
Allemand turns to paint, but because Bueckers cross the 3-point line, and –She’s gone?
Aziaha James is 29% of the three-point shooter, missing the triangle. Plum found a way to shoot more than the Bueckers, and he won the game on the buzzer. When will you forget who won this game? Probably earlier than Bueckers.
I won’t. This is the perfect ending.
These are the moments you instinctively mourn before the past – the first real I remember where I was In a game that promises to fill them – Wings lost because Bueckers’ teammates shot 50 percentage points worse than her. Because she still trusts them.
Hopefully our athletes fail before they succeed is not a novel concept, but hopefully it is cruel in Bueckers. Oh well.
Ask questions about the final ceiling of Bueckers, wondering if her approach may change in the coming seasons. It’s a shiny 2.5:1 assists to transition ratio also Glittering? How futile is her shooting diet going to provide a plan for a playoff-level defense?
But I don’t care, I’m not here anyway. Her 44-point epic reminds us what we all know: she will be fine. Yes, we can always want more from Paige Bueckers. But remember to enjoy the show.
She made it easy.
