Paige Bueckers Scores 35 in Return as Wings Fall to 1-10 with Loss to Mercury

The start of the 2025 season hasn't gone well for the Dallas Wings, but their star rookie continues to shine.

As Dallas fell to 1-10 with a 93-80 loss to Alyssa Thomas and the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday, No. 1 Paige Bueckers dropped a career-high 35 points and six rebounds on 13-of-19 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep.

Before Wednesday, Bueckers had missed four games because of a concussion and an illness. The Wings lost all four games without Bueckers.

For a competitor like Bueckers, it's never easy being off the court, but she said the time spent watching rather than playing helped her gain a new perspective.

"Sometimes I feel like we're our biggest opponent in terms of stuff that we can do to contribute to winning," she told reporters on Tuesday. "So just coming back having that perspective on how we can change things. It's just little things that we can clean up, specifically turnovers and transition defense."

While they lost Wednesday's contest, having Bueckers back on the court is good news for a Dallas team that has taken some blows in recent weeks. Guard Ty Harris suffered a season-ending knee injury last month, taking away a key reserve for the Wings. The team is also without Teaira McCowan for the time being as she plays with Turkey in the FIBA Women's EuroBasket.

The playoffs might be a stretch this year as Dallas continues its rebuild, but performances like Wednesday's are a good reminder to Wings fans that the team is heading in the right direction with Bueckers leading the way.