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When the Dallas Wings open their highly-anticipated regular season on Friday at UT Arlington’s College Park Center, the spotlight will be on Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA draft.
Dallas has high hopes for the former UConn star who won a national title in April before coming to North Texas. The rookie combined for 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the Wings’ two preseason games and is already one of the WNBA’s biggest stars.
But the decorated 23-year-old has only been a pro for about a month, and there’s an adjustment period for even the most elite players making the leap from college to the W.
Here’s how the last five No. 1 picks performed in their WNBA debut.
2024: Caitlin Clark
After Clark enchanted the country with her deep three-point shooting and became the face of women’s basketball, the Indiana Fever drafted the Iowa phenom No. 1 overall.
Clark combined for 33 points in two preseason games before making her WNBA regular season debut against the Connecticut Sun. She finished with 20 points, three assists and two steals in the 92-71 loss, but shot 33.3% from the field and had 10 turnovers.
The Fever finished the regular season 20–20 in 2024 and qualified for the playoffs, where the Sun eliminated Indiana in the first round. Clark was a WNBA All-Star in 2024 and won WNBA Rookie of the Year after finishing her debut season with averages of 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game.
2023: Aliyah Boston
The 6-5 forward won WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2023 after the Fever drafted her No. 1 overall.
Boston, who won a national championship at South Carolina in 2022, was also an All-Star the last two seasons. The 2022 Naismith College Player of the Year combined for 16 points in two preseason games before her regular season debut against the Connecticut Sun.
Shooting 6-of-10 from the floor, Boston finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and an assist in the 70-61 loss. She ended her rookie season averaging 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
2022: Rhyne Howard
A three-time first-team All-American at Kentucky, Howard was drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Dream and has since been a two-time All-Star.
She recorded a combined 18 points over two preseason games. Howard led the Dream with 16 points and four assists in her regular season debut, a 66-59 win over the Wings.
The guard finished her first WNBA season with averages of 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists — a campaign that earned her Rookie of the Year.
2021: Charli Collier
The Wings’ last No. 1 pick before Bueckers, Collier was an All-American center out of Texas.
Collier recorded a double double in one preseason game for Dallas, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She had another double double in the Wings’ season-opening 94-71 win over the Los Angeles Sparks, with 11 points on 67% shooting and 10 rebounds.
But she finished her rookie season with averages of 3.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Collier’s production decreased in 2022, when she averaged two points per game. The Wings waived Collier in May 2023 and she has since played basketball overseas.
2020: Sabrina Ionescu
Ionescu won her first WNBA championship last season, four years after the New York Liberty drafted her No. 1 overall.
The decorated Oregon alum and Naismith College Player of the Year in 2020 entered the WNBA during an unorthodox year in sports. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league played its regular season in the Wubble, an isolation zone at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Ionescu made her regular season debut in an 87-71 loss to the Seattle Storm. She scored 12 points, finishing 4-of-17 from the floor and 0-of-8 from three. The guard recorded six rebounds and led the Liberty with four assists. Ionescu played in two more games after that, but missed the remainder of her rookie season due to an ankle injury. She has since been named a three-time WNBA All-Star and was the 2023 WNBA Three-Point Shootout champion.
Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
