Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson Eyed by WNBA GMs as Top Cornerstones, Full Survey Results

Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers edged out the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark and Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson when WNBA general managers were asked about the one player they'd build a team around.

Here are the results from this year's annual GM survey:

If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the WNBA, who would it be?

1. Paige Bueckers, Wings (five votes)

T2. Caitlin Clark, Fever (three votes)

T2. A'ja Wilson, Aces (three votes)

3. Dominique Malonga, Storm (two votes)

T5. Breanna Stewart, Liberty (one vote)

T5. Napheesa Collier, Lynx (one vote)

Age is always a consideration when questions like this are posed.

Wilson, the only ever four-time MVP, is clearly the league's best player. If you were assembling a roster for just this season, she would be the first pick 10 times out of 10.

Bueckers and Clark, both 24, offer more long-term value. They could plausibly continue to perform at a high level for the next decade.

Interestingly, Bueckers seems to have leapfrogged her fellow No. 1 overall pick in this thought exercise.

In the 2025 GM survey, Clark was the leading vote-getter to this question. Six of the 12 respondents picked her, and Bueckers was omitted completely. The roles have now reversed on the basis of last season.

In 36 appearances with the Wings, Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals en route to winning Rookie of the Year. Compared to Clark's WNBA debut, she was a more efficient overall shooter while matching her scoring output, recording more steals and finishing with a third of her turnovers.

For as much attention as Clark rightfully garnered for her record-breaking first season, Bueckers was just as good and perhaps even better individually.

In terms of team success, Clark was a clear victor as she and the Fever made the playoffs in 2024. Despite Bueckers' best efforts, the Wings went 10-34 last year.

Although their careers overlapped, Bueckers and Clark didn't have much of a rivalry in college. Their most notable connection was that Bueckers' early commitment to UConn meant the Huskies mostly ignored Clark during the recruiting process despite her having some interest in them.

Now that both have established themselves as marquee stars in the WNBA, fans may spend years arguing who's better between Bueckers and Clark.