Paige Bueckers will miss the Dallas Wings’ game against the New York Liberty on Monday night after leaving Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Sparks following a collision with Nneka Ogwumike.
The timing stings because Bueckers had been carrying Dallas through one of its best stretches in years. She scored 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting with five assists and four rebounds before exiting, and the Wings still finished the job without her when Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points down the stretch. Dallas is 17-8, sits fourth in the WNBA standings and has won six straight for the first time since the team moved to Dallas.
Bueckers’ production has been central to that surge. She is averaging 20.7 points, 6.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in a second season that has already made her look like the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year in form, if not in title. A year ago, the Wings finished 10-34, so this run has changed the shape of the season as much as any single result.
The immediate problem for Dallas is that Monday comes too soon to ease into life without her. With Bueckers sidelined, Ogunbowale and Azzi Fudd are set to take on more of the offensive load in the backcourt, and both are averaging 13.3 points per game while playing about 30 minutes per game. That gives the Wings enough scoring to compete, but not the same burst Bueckers brings when she is on the floor and healthy.
The collision also left one more question hanging over a team that has spent the last week climbing. Bueckers appeared to be holding her head after the contact, and Ogwumike also exited the game, but no timeline for Bueckers’ return has been given. For now, Dallas has to defend its winning streak without the player who has defined it.
