Wings star Paige Bueckers has established herself as a 'culture-setter'

Paige Bueckers received high praise from the Unrivaled League commissioner ahead of her debut.

Jul 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) after the game between the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers is now officially a part of the Unrivaled League. She's an investor in the league, but she couldn't play in it last year since she was still at UConn. She made her debut on Monday night and put up an impressive 24 points in a win for Breeze BC.

Before her debut, Unrivaled president Alex Bazell spoke with the media about the addition of Bueckers to the league, making it very clear what he thinks of her as a basketball player.

"Paige is a superstar," Bazell said. "Paige is someone that raises the level of everyone else. I think that's what's really important. It's not an individual sport, but individuals do set tones of culture. She's one of the culture-setters for us, and women's basketball as a whole... I've been very proactive, since Paige has been very young, of knowing how good she is. She's been really ahead of her time--not just on the court, but off the court."

Paige Bueckers (1/5/26) pic.twitter.com/xiMRTholyf

— @balapattyszn (@balapattyvids) January 6, 2026

READ MORE: Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers makes surprising statement after Unrivaled debut

Bueckers is one of the bigger stars of the league, especially now that Napheesa Collier will miss the season due to having surgery on both ankles, and Caitlin Clark isn't playing this year, trying to get healthy for the next WNBA season. That's assuming there even is a season this year, as the CBA is set to expire on Friday, and they've already moved it back twice. Negotiations still seem far apart, even if Miami is likely to hold a lot of negotiations in the background with most of the league's stars playing in Unrivaled.

Breeze BC beat Phantom BC in the first game of the season on Monday, and they won't play again until Friday night against Hive BC, who lost their first game of the season. Paige Bueckers will have a chance to take home League MVP if she keeps playing the way she did in Monday's game.

It helps that she has some great talent around her with Rickea Jackson, Dominique Malonga, and Cam Brink. The Dallas Wings need to follow suit and surround her with the best talent possible in an offseason when a lot of the top stars will be free agents, and it should be simple to recruit players to play around Bueckers.

READ MORE: Wings star Paige Bueckers impresses in Unrivaled debut

Stick with WingsGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Wings throughout the offseason.

More Dallas Wings News

• Dallas Wings usher in new era with ex-South Florida winning HC to help Paige Bueckers

• New Wings coach details emotional decision to leave USF for WNBA

• Dallas Wings phenom Paige Bueckers named to influential list by WNBA legend

• Napheesa Collier reveals concerning Paige Bueckers statement by WNBA Commissioner