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23 hours ago
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Despite flirting with MVP contention in her second WNBA season, Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers has fallen in Bleacher Report's latest ranking of the league's top 25 players.
B/R's Hunter Cruse ranks Bueckers as the sixth-best player in the WNBA -- which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Bueckers made her second All-Star in as many years this season, and she has piloted the Wings back to the WNBA playoffs after a three-year absence.
MORE: Paige Bueckers and Wings positioned for major jump in WNBA standings
But to Cruse, something continues to hold back Bueckers from the top five -- where Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Olivia Miles find themselves as the only guards ranked higher than Bueckers.
"It's crazy, but Bueckers' biggest obstacle is herself," Cruse writes. "Her passiveness at times is puzzling, and her willingness to get to the rim has gotten worse, if anything."
Cruse cites a drop in Bueckers' shot attempts at the rim as evidence of this passiveness. During her rookie season, 18.7 percent of Bueckers' shots in the Wings' half-court offense came at the rim. That number is down to 12.7 percent in 2026.
Even still, Bueckers is wildly efficient -- to a historic degree. She boasts 51/40/87 shooting splits and is averaging 20.5 points per game, good for sixth in the WNBA.
"She might go down as the greatest mid-range scorer in basketball history, on top of being one of the best off-ball movers and processors we've ever seen," Cruse writes.
Paige Bueckers said her patellar tendinitis “flared up” at the World Cup.
“There was two back-to-backs… Just wanted to be cautious, take that approach. Obviously the timing was frustrating, but being smart about it too, knowing that there’s a reason and purpose for everything.”
Let's hope the patellar tendinitis flare-up she experienced at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup does not impact Bueckers' participation in the WNBA playoffs, where fans will be seeing Bueckers for the first time later this month.
More WNBA news:
Caitlin Clark lands outside top three in updated WNBA player rankings
WNBA writer explains 'obvious' Sixth Player pick – and it isn't Sophie Cunningham
Caitlin Clark returned from the FIBA World Cup with gifts for her Fever teammates
Ex-NBA player blasts Enes Kanter Freedom for 'corny' Chicago Sky beef
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