Analyst pinpoints one area Paige Bueckers’ rookie season outshone Caitlin Clark’s maiden year in WNBA

One year after Caitlin Clark emerged as a WNBA phenomenon, Paige Bueckers took the league by storm. According to one analyst, there was one area in which Bueckers actually outshone Clark’s rookie performance.

In a piece published in The Athletic on Thursday, Sabreena Merchant pointed to one advanced stat that favors the Dallas Wings star.

«Although Bueckers had a worse net rating than Clark (minus-5.0 compared to minus-2.4), her on-off differential has been better in her rookie season,» Merchant wrote. «The Wings are 8.1 points per 100 possessions better with Bueckers on the court, demonstrating her impact, even if it hasn’t translated to victories.»

In addition, Merchant also referred to win shares, another advanced stat that attempts to quantify a player’s contribution to their team’s success.

«Win shares favor Bueckers as well, and she can build on her 3.5-3.0 lead in the final three games,» Merchant added.

On the other hand, the analyst also acknowledged that Clark has outperformed Bueckers in terms of the traditional «counting stats.» CC put up 19.2 ppg on 52.2% shooting from the field, 5.7 rpg, and 8.4 apg in 2024, while Bueckers is currently averaging 18.9 ppg on a 50.4% shooting clip, 3.7 rpg, and 5.3 apg.

According to Merchant, the next milestone for Bueckers to clear is to «play in games of real consequence,» as Clark was able to lead the Fever to the playoffs during her rookie season. The Wings are bound for the WNBA lottery once again, but eventually, the growth of Bueckers and the arrival of yet another highly touted recruit could ignite a postseason run for Dallas.

Paige Bueckers achieves another feat reminiscent of Caitlin Clark’s rookie season

On Wednesday, Bueckers added another accolade to an already extensive list of feats in her debut WNBA season. The Wings guard was named Rookie of the Month for the third consecutive time after averaging 20.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in August.

In the 2025 season, Kiki Iriafen of the Washington Mystics is the only other rookie thus far to clinch a Rookie of the Month award. Last year, Clark won this accolade for each of the last three months of the regular season, en route to securing the Rookie of the Year award.