The Dallas Wings are 0-2, but they appear to be a draw for the WNBA despite a slow start in 2025.
Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the draft, is proving to be an offensive threat in the league. She scored 29 points through the Wings’ first two games (which leads Dallas in points). She’s averaging 14.5 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game.
The Dallas Wings have a budding superstar
The standout at UConn had a lot of hype surrounding her before the draft, and it’s translating to the WNBA. Per Front Office Sports, her debut in the Wings’ 99-84 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday drew the second-most viewers ever for a WNBA game sans Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark on Ion.
“Bueckers’s WNBA debut drew 639,000 viewers on Ion,” per a post on X by FOS. “Excluding games featuring Caitlin Clark, it’s the second most-watched WNBA game ever on Ion.”
Paige Bueckers's WNBA debut drew 639,000 viewers on Ion.
Excluding games featuring Caitlin Clark, it's the second most-watched WNBA game ever on Ion. pic.twitter.com/MNxBbNPBLH
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 21, 2025
Paige Buckers is already more popular than Angel Reese
While Bueckers isn’t coming close to gaining the popularity Clark enjoys, the rookie is already edging out Chicago Sky star Angel Reese. Prices for Wings’ road game tickets are more expensive than when Reese goes on the road.
Reese is still popular in the WNBA. Tickets to see the Sky on the road are the third-highest in the league behind Dallas and Indiana. The Fever-Sky game on Saturday drew record eyeballs for ABC.
Still, it appears Reese is no longer playing second fiddle to Clark like she hoped in 2024. Bueckers is enjoying that spot.
Chicago has yet to play on Ion in 2025. The Sky are set to play their first game on the network Thursday against the defending champion New York Liberty at 8 p.m. EST.
Ratings of that contest will be interesting to compare to what the Wings have Wednesday night when they play the Minnesota Lynx at 8 p.m. EST.
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