Paige Bueckers' WNBA Preseason Debut Celebrated By Fans Despite Wings' Loss to Aces

The Paige Bueckers WNBA era begins now.

The 2025 top overall pick and Dallas Wings rookie made her WNBA preseason debut on Friday night, putting up 10 points and four rebounds in a 112-78 loss against the Las Vegas Aces.

Jackie Young (28 points, nine assists) and A'ja Wilson (19 points, seven boards) led the way for the Aces.

It was a humbling first entry into the WNBA world for Bueckers from a team perspective, but individually she held her own. Afterwards, a number of WNBA fans were impressed with the debut effort:

Obviously, Bueckers brings plenty of hype with her to Dallas. The three-time All-American, 2020-21 Wooden Award winner and 2024-25 national champion with UConn may not have the sort of impact on the league that Caitlin Clark did a year ago, but at the very least, she's the next best thing.

She's the early frontrunner to be the Rookie of the Year and is now the face of a new-look Wings team that is building for the future.

"There is a lot of new in this organization, so to be a part of something where we can build with each other and create a new sisterhood, we're really excited," she told reporters in April. "And plus, we got these hats, the cowboy boots, we're ready to invest all of ourselves into Dallas."

The city of Dallas lost Luka Dončić this year. Adding Bueckers should help somewhat soothe that pain for hoop fans in the area, and the first glimpses of her with the Wings were mostly positive.