Paige Bueckers officially made her presence in the WNBA known Friday night when the Dallas Wings took on the Minnesota Lynx. Though the Wings ended up losing 99-84 in the team's home opener, Bueckers had a few moments to shine and overall turned in a solid performance. There was one gaping problem, though: if she truly wants to succeed and grow into the player she's capable of being, Bueckers needs to be more aggressive (and the Wings need to figure out how to unlock that).
That Bueckers can be almost too much of a team player isn't exactly new. Back in February UConn's Coach Geno Auriemma told reporters, "She draws a lot of attention to herself, which is good. She could try to go out there and try to get 25 shots every night if she wanted it to be that way, but she doesn't. And... I just want to make sure she takes advantage of all the opportunities that she has."
Paige Bueckers needs to get more aggressive on the court
Bueckers repeatedly passed the ball to teammates but didn't always get it back, which is likely a tough lesson for the WNBA rookie: if you want to keep the ball, you need to play the ball. She had a strong first half and did everything right, including finding her teammates in transition, hitting rebounds, and taking midrange shots. But her efficiency fell off in the second, and she never quite managed to get back to form for the rest of the game.
Having said that, for her first-ever game, she more than held her own and gave fans plenty to look forward to. It was clear that the professional game is inherent in her training, especially in the way that she worked both sides of the floor equally — and she very nearly landed a double-double, with 10 points and 7 rebounds, a feat that was only matched by Myisha Hines-Allen, who finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.
In a lot of ways, the Wings are learning on the fly much as Bueckers is. The team has 8 new players this season and is truly in a rebuilding phase — like the young rookie, the Wings have a lot to figure out. The team has a strong core of vets who can and will provide the leadership that Bueckers needs (if they start getting her the ball in the first place).