We caught up with Rickea Jackson after today's practice to discuss her rehab progress and thoughts on the season.
Jackson confirmed she officially named her recovering knee: "Rickneea."
Full story to come! #Skytown
Paige Bueckers had 22 points.
Paige Bueckers had 11 assists.
Paige Bueckers had 4 rebounds.
Paige Bueckers had 3 threes.
Paige Bueckers had 2 steals.
Paige Bueckers had 1 block.
This is what an elite hooper looks like.
All Paige Bueckers needed was a solid supporting cast around her. Dallas gave her one, and now she has the Wings headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Getting there hasn’t always been easy, either.
Over half of Dallas’ wins this season have been decided by 10 points or fewer, and Bueckers has been at the center of many of them, averaging a team-high (21.3) points and (7.1) assists in those 12 games.
And if you’ve followed Bueckers throughout her career, that probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. She has always seemed to rise to the occasion when her team needs her most.
That showed early this season with 20 points and 4 assists in a close win over Indiana, 24 points and 4 assists against Chicago, and 20 points and 6 assists against Las Vegas. She also handed out a career-high 14 assists, along with 18 points, in an eight-point win over Los Angeles.
But one stretch in June really showed what Bueckers can do with a game hanging in the balance. Dallas won consecutive games by a combined three points, and Bueckers was responsible for some of the biggest moments in both.
Against Chicago, she scored 9 points over the final four minutes, including a three-point and-one, to help Dallas escape with a one-point win. She finished with 19 points and 8 assists.
Then she came back the very next game and somehow did even more.
Bueckers scored 8 points over the final 72 seconds of regulation, including the shot in the closing seconds that sent the game to overtime. She added another 9 points in overtime, finishing with 27 points and 5 assists. All together, Bueckers scored 17 of Dallas’ final 24 points.
And that hasn’t been the only time she has taken over late. In another close win, Dallas entered the fourth quarter trailing by as many as eleven before Bueckers scored 11 points in the period, including the go-ahead free throw, to help complete the comeback.
Those are three wins that could end up making a huge difference in where Dallas finishes in the standings.
And we haven’t even mentioned her 22-point, 11-assist performance in a 96-91 win over Chicago, or her 20-point outings in single-digit wins over Toronto and Portland.
When Dallas has needed someone to settle things down, create a shot or simply take over, Bueckers has repeatedly been the one to do it.
Now the Wings are closing in on a new franchise record for wins and a return to the postseason. It will be the first playoff appearance of Bueckers’ young WNBA career and another opportunity to see Postseason P — something we haven’t seen since her days at UConn, when she put together one of the most productive title runs of any player this century. ✨