Former UConn standout Paige Bueckers was officially named the 2025 WBNA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, making Bueckers the seventh former UConn player to win the award.

Now with the Dallas Wings, Bueckers received 70 of the possible 72 first-place votes for the honor. Sonia Cintron of the Washington Mystics received the other two. Bueckers is the first Wings player since Allisha Gray (in 2017) to be awarded Rookie of the Year.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert surprised Bueckers before her appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” on Tuesday. The WNBA later confirmed the news in a press release, posting on X: “Paige Bueckers is the 2025 WNBA @Kia Rookie of the Year Averaging 19.2 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.9 RPG, Bueckers led the @dallaswings as one of the most dynamic rookies the league has ever seen.#KiaROY | #WelcometotheW”

Bueckers was ranked as the No. 1 women’s player in 2020 before heading to UConn, where she was a three-time unanimous first team All-American selection in college, and won the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 2021.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Bueckers went on to set a new franchise rookie scoring record while averaging 19.2 points per game. The 23-year-old averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and her 692 points and 192 assists ranks third all-time among WNBA rookies. In addition, Bueckers’ 44 points against the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 2 set a WNBA single-game rookie record after she made 17 of 21 shots from the field (81%) — becoming the first player in WNBA history to score 40 or more points and shoot at least 80% from the field in a game.

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