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The calendar has turned over to 2026, and as people take a look at 2025, it’s easy to reflect on the sports moments of the year. Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers had one of the greatest years an individual athlete can have in team sports, winning a national championship at UConn in her senior season while also being a First-Team All-American. She was selected first overall in the WNBA Draft a few weeks later by the Dallas Wings, and she went on to become an All-Star Game starter, win Rookie of the Year, and be selected to the All-WNBA Second Team.
That’s about as good a year as anyone could ask. Yes, she likely would’ve preferred if the Wings weren’t the worst team in the WNBA this year, but it’s hard to argue with her personal success.
Bleacher Report put together a list of the best 25 athletes under the age of 25 across all sports, and Paige Bueckers checked in at 23rd, one of just two WNBA players to do so (Caitlin Clark, 6th), and there was only one female athlete outside of the WNBA to crack the list (Iga Swiatek, tennis, 16th).
“The high point of the star point guard’s first year with the Dallas Wings came on an August night in Los Angeles when she dropped 44 points on 80 percent shooting to set the single-game rookie scoring record,” Jason Dunbar wrote.
“While her full-season numbers didn’t quite maintain that bonkers level of efficiency, she sported a top-10 PER (22.1) in 2025 and a top-20 mark among true rookies all-time.
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“The UConn product also posted top-10 per-game averages of 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 2025 while shooting 47.7 percent from the field. Those numbers landed her All-Star and All-WNBA second-team nods as well as the Rookie of the Year trophy.
“At 24, she won’t have a chance to climb this list next year, as a torn ACL knocked her out for the Huskies in 2022-23 and temporarily off her path to stardom. Lest we forget, she was the No. 1 recruit in a 2020 freshman class that included Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Cam Brink, and Kamila Cardoso.
“Still, she oozed poise as a rookie, and her penchant for processing the game, high-level playmaking, and electric scoring should put her into the W’s MVP conversation as soon as this upcoming year.”
It’s surprising that Bueckers didn’t end up higher on the list. Even if the Wings had a bad season, there’s no denying that type of year Bueckers had. The challenge will be for the Wings to put a better roster around her, which they’ll have a great chance of doing this offseason. They’ll be loaded with cap space, and it should be easy to sell playing alongside Bueckers.
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