Cooper Flagg, understandably, is the talk of the town right now as the number one pick headed to the Dallas Mavericks. Paige Bueckers has held down that role since she was drafted to the Wings, and it's if you've listened to her speak or watched her play, you get why. Flagg has had the pleasure of doing both, so he knows what makes the WNBA's first-overall pick special, and he shared it with Joey Mistretta.
Joey always asking the important questions and that’s why he’s the 🐐 https://t.co/ygpnxuspEs pic.twitter.com/gWuigwqtwT
— CFP (@sportsfan6718) June 27, 2025
Being a great person isn't always the end-all be-all in sports. Michael Jordan famously punched a teammate in the face, for Christ's sake. But it makes it much easier to appreciate a likable player who does their job on the court at a high level. You can't have one or the other, though. You need both, and Bueckers stars in both areas.
Bueckers is the ideal locker room leader
The best player on the team doesn't have to be the leader, but most people expect it. It's much easier to explain the dynamic of a team when the same person who gets everyone going and keeps everyone on the same page (no pun intended) is the same one they'll rely on when games get tight. That's exactly what Bueckers is as a leader.
She does it by uplifting her teammates on and off the floor. A great example of this is when she blocked the cameras when they got a little too close to DiJonai Carrington after a tough moment on the court. Or when she messaged her team through Instagram when they were having fun at the pool, telling them they needed to get sleep for the upcoming game.
Whatever she does, it's in an encouraging way because it's hard enough to be a pro athlete. So many eyes are on your every move, so the last thing you want is to head into a locker room with poor leadership or dysfunctional chemistry. That's something this team doesn't have to worry about.
Tonight, the Wings will face off against the Indiana Fever, and they'll need that leadership to continue the hot streak they've been working toward—Paige and company are 3-1 in their last four games. Caitlin Clark will be out of the lineup for the second game in a row after injuring her groin. She's day-to-day, so that's an advantage for Dallas.
The Fever have been struggling lately, so Clark's absence won't help. But they'll also be desperate, and that makes them dangerous. However, if Bueckers brings everything that makes her who Cooper Flagg, like everyone else, knows her to be, the Wings should bring home another victory on the first leg of a back-to-back with the Washington Mystics coming to town tomorrow, Saturday, June 28.