Paige Bueckers vs. Caitlin Clark rookie stats: Comparing first seasons of WNBA No. 1 picks

9 jam yang lalu

In each of nan past fewer years, nan No. 1 wide prime successful nan WNBA Draft has been an basal no-brainer. After nan Indiana Fever were beneficiaries successful 2023 and 2024, nan Dallas Wings made nan astir of their draught lottery luck successful 2025.

Specific to nan past 2 years, nan parallels betwixt Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Dallas' Paige Bueckers arsenic do-it-all guards are difficult to ignore. They're some members of nan precocious schoolhouse people of 2020, and Clark and Bueckers entered nan WNBA pinch claims to galore collegiate accolades, records, and honors.

Special arsenic some players were successful college, nan modulation to nan adjacent level is nary joke — neither subordinate was successful for a rude awakening successful nan W, but some had to set to an summation successful physicality and skill.

📲 Follow The Sporting News connected WhatsApp

In 2024, Clark overcame those challenges to go an All-Star starter and Rookie of nan Year grant winner. One twelvemonth later, Bueckers tin cheque nan All-Star starter box, and she's building a lawsuit to gain Rookie of nan Year honors successful a talented people of first-year players.

As nan Fever and Wings meet for nan 2nd clip this season, here's really Bueckers' rookie run measures up to Clark's.

SN's WNBA HQ: Live WNBA scores | Updated WNBA standings | Full WNBA schedule

Paige Bueckers vs. Caitlin Clark rookie stats

They spell astir things differently, but Bueckers and Clark some person built reputations arsenic guards tin of doing everything for their team. Clark's scoring is sometimes louder, but Bueckers has shown nan expertise to capable it up passim her career.

It's still a mini sample size, but Bueckers' rookie-year scoring is connected par pinch Clark's, though Clark has nan separator arsenic a rebounder and playmaker. The edges for efficiency and protect counting stats spell to Bueckers.

Notably, Bueckers' profession is disconnected to a historically torrid start. This season, she became nan fastest player successful convention history to scope 200 points and 50 assists, doing truthful successful 11 games, 1 crippled quicker than Clark.

That aforesaid game, she became nan first subordinate successful convention history to grounds 25-plus points, five-plus assists, two-plus steals, and two-plus blocks pinch nary turnovers.

Less than a week later, Clark became nan fastest defender since nan league's inaugural play to scope 250 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists, reaching nan plateaus successful her 14th profession game.

— Real Sports (@realapp_) July 4, 2025

Here's really Bueckers' 14-game sample size compares to Clark's 40-game rookie season.

	Bueckers	Clark
Games	14	40
Points/Game	18.7	19.2
Rebounds/Game	4.3	5.7
Assists/Game	5.7	8.4
Steals/Game	1.8	1.3
Blocks/Game	0.9	0.7
Field goal%	47.5%	41.7%
3-point%	34.8%	34.4%
Free throw%	86.7%	90.6%

It is important to statement that, for illustration Clark, Bueckers' last assemblage play did not extremity until nan nationalist title game. Each subordinate had a speedy turnaround earlier reporting for their respective rookie seasons, pinch Clark notably struggling retired of nan gate.

In 2024, Clark benefited from nan lengthy Olympic break, posting averages of 23.1 points, 8.9 assists, and 5.4 rebounds complete nan last 14 games of nan regular season. This year, Bueckers won't beryllium capable to use from specified a layoff, though she has been forced to remainder owed to injuries that held her retired of 5 of Dallas' first 19 games.

Because of nan games Bueckers has missed, she will not lucifer Clark's 40-game full from 2024, but nan Wings rookie should still look successful capable games to beryllium successful information for Rookie of nan Year.

As clip goes on, she whitethorn rewrite history immoderate more, too.

MORE WNBA NEWS: