Paige Bueckers is not one for comparisons. She calls the comparisons to Caitlin Clark something she “used to be bothered by.” But she has found her footing as her own person. “I’ve done so much work on myself and my approach. The ability to not run a race in comparison, to run my own race and worry about that.” This has fared well for the 2025 Rookie Of The Year Favourite as she is having one of the best rookie seasons any player has had, even Caitlin Clark. 

In a struggling Dallas Wings team, she is averaging 18.8 points and 5.4 assists while getting 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Even then, she has still not matched Clark’s entry into the WNBA, as she averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, along with 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals. Many consider Bueckers as a more “all-around player”. “You can tell they are two different styles of players. Paige is getting people involved. Caitlin’s more looking for her shot,” a reporter was heard saying during the broadcast of the Fever-Wings game.

As we can see in the numbers, it was just a plain wrong statement, but such narratives exist around the league. In addition to Clark being statistically superior so far, some fans point out another aspect in which Bueckers is falling behind. While fans gushed on how Bueckers has written history so far this season, one fan pointed out, speaking for many, “She can’t carry a team to the playoffs.” It’s a sore thumb that sticks out in Bueckers’s rookie season. And it’s a point against her when it comes to Caitlin Clark comparisons. 

The Iowa alum led Indiana to its first playoff appearance since 2016 while being the best player on the team. Like another fan pointed out, even the Goats of the sport haven’t been able to do that, writing, “Diana Taurasi missed the playoffs in each of her first three seasons before winning three championships. LeBron James missed the playoffs in each of his first two seasons before going on to win four NBA championships. It’s not uncommon for top players to miss the playoffs early in their careers.” While that is the norm, it makes Clark’s achievement stand out even more. 

To slightly counter this narrative, Clark had a better team with 2023 No.1 pick Aliyah Boston as her partner, along with Kelsey Mitchell. Bueckers doesn’t have anyone with the same numbers as Arike Ogunbowale has dropped off this season. In pure numbers, the second-best player on the 2025 Wings, Ogunbowale, averages 15.5 points, 4.1 assists per game, while Mitchell averaged 19.1 points with Boston, who averaged 14.1 points. 

As we have had rookies do a similar thing, with a better team around them, like Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne, and Jackie Young, whether they had as much impact as Clark is debatable. Bueckers’ rookie season is undoubtedly elite, and she has already become the leader of the Wings roster. As they continued losing against the Aces, Bueckers sent a clear message regarding Ogunbowale. 

Injuries Define Fever 2024 vs Wings 2025 After Aces Rout

The Wings are stalled. They haven’t won a game in a while, and Arike missed her third consecutive match due to right knee soreness, and she was incredibly missed. The Aces drilled on the Wings’ weak defense, drowning them in 18 triples, which is the second most in WNBA history and the most ever against the Wings. They beat them 106-87 with A’ja Wilson being the star of the show, leaving Bueckers and Co. in the dust. 

Bueckers highlighted Arike’s absence after the game, saying, “Nobody can replace Arike, so everybody just has to step up and do a little bit more. It’s really been a team effort to try to make up for her absence.”

Ogunbowale has missed 6 games with injury this season. Earlier, she missed three with a thumb injury; now she is nursing her knee. As we highlighted earlier, she is comfortably the second-best player on the team. While Maddy Siegrist had an outstanding performance with 23 points, Arike, along with these two, would have given them a chance against the Aces. The Dallas Wings have not been short of injury troubles. Tyasha Harris had to undergo knee surgery. Maddy Siegrist was on crutches for most of the season and has shown what they missed since her comeback. 

They had Teira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsoder missing a month with the EuroBasket. DiJonai Carrington missed games due to her rib injury and was eventually traded. Bueckers herself has been sidelined through her knee troubles and concussion. As compared to the 2024 Fever, the Wings have had a lot more injury troubles, and maybe, if they didn’t, Bueckers could have replicated Clark’s feat of reaching the playoffs in rookie season.