NBA Sends 4-Word Message After Paige Bueckers' Strong Comeback Performance
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NBA Sends 4-Word Message After Paige Bueckers' Strong Comeback Performance originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Paige Bueckers made her long-awaited return to the court on Wednesday after two weeks of absence due to a concussion and an illness. The Phoenix Mercury took down the Dallas Wings 93-80 behind another solid performance from Satou Sabally, who dropped 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The game, which resulted in the 10th loss of the season for the Wings (against only one victory), saw Bueckers go off with 35 points (13-of-19 from the field), becoming the third rookie in Wings' history to record a 35-point game after Odyssey Sims (2014) and Arike Ogunbowale (2019), respectively.
As great as Bueckers was, the rest of the team wasn't on the same page, as they barely shot 16-of-48 (33%) from the floor.
The impressive performance from Bueckers turned a lot of heads, although her team couldn't get things done. The NBA's official X account shared a four-word message to celebrate the 2025 No. 1 overall pick's comeback.
"PAIGE BUCKETS IS BACK," they wrote.
Despite a spectacular outing, the 23-year-old guard said she could have done things differently in several aspects.
"I mean I was coming back from a break and I feel like I could have used my voice more, been more disruptive, crashed the glass more," she said, via ESPN. "So as I get my wind under me, I'll be better in those areas. But like I said, just trying to contribute in other areas and whatever that looks like on any given night and will try to put my full effort toward that."
The Wings' poor start to the season has raised many eyebrows around the league. Bueckers' absence hurt their chances of winning more games, but if things click from now on, they could turn things around before it's too late. Dallas returns to action on Friday against the Las Vegas Aces (4-4) in a game scheduled at 10 p.m. ET.
Related: Sheryl Swoopes Doesn’t Hold Back on Paige Bueckers’ Coach After Nine Defeats
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
