Paige Bueckers' rookie season has one odd drawback the WNBA community should notice

Paige Bueckers continues to forge a potentially legendary career path, but Awful Announcing noticed something weird when examining the Dallas Wings rookie guard

Aug 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) dribbles the ball against the LA Sparks in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Paige Bueckers defense train just got a bit bigger.

This past Thursday, Awful Announcing's Katie Lever told it like it was: although Bueckers may win the WNBA's Rookie of the Year Award, which would be rightfully justified given her historical season thus far in several categories, the big players in sports media haven't given the UConn legend the same respect.

More specifically, Lever cited several examples where Bueckers has been undervalued by the national media as opposed to the way the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark was propped up by nearly every major publication or website during her rookie year last season.

The most eye-opening to Lever was ESPN's disregard for Bueckers, especially after turning in a recent 44-point performance in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks last Wednesday.

SportsCenter, a staple of ESPN's programming portfolio for decades, unpurpose or not, refused to give the accomplishment the ample time it so rightfully deserved.

READ MORE: Paige Bueckers gets raving review as rookie season winds down

Dear @Espn Paige Buecker Goes Off For 44pts 17-21 (From The Field) & Y’all Don’t Open Up The Show With Her Performance?? Y’all Have Done It Before For #1 Picks With Lesser Production!!!! 🤷🏾‍♂️

— Plies (@plies) August 21, 2025

Paige Bueckers' Historical Feats Are Non-Exsistent From ESPN

Aug 24, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts during the second half against the Golden State Valkyries at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

"Dear @ESPN Paige Buecker Goes Off For 44pts 17-21 (From The Field) & Y’all Don’t Open Up The Show With Her Performance??" rapper Plies tweeted. "Y’all Have Done It Before For #1 Picks With Lesser Production!!!!"

Lever quickly credited Plies for pointing out the hypocrisy, writing that even though the Wings are eliminated from playoff contention that credit should be given where it's due.

"Plies has a point, especially considering that last season, ESPN devoted an entire week’s worth of coverage to a hard foul on Caitlin Clark,: Lever wrote. "But Bueckers’ performance was a footnote on ESPN’s morning shows, with a quick highlight package before moving on to preseason NFL talk."

It's unclear as to why this is. However, from a logical standpoint, the four major sports (more specifically, the NFL and NBA) draw significantly larger audiences for several key factors, with arguably the most significant being the television aspect.

The NFL is accessible on a wide array of platforms, and while the WNBA can make a similar claim, where it lacks is accessibility. Minus the rare ABC/ESPN pairing every so often, most Wings games can only be streamed via WNBA League Pass. While it may be a cheap subscription model given the league runs from the spring through early September, that's still one more service fans must prioritize if they want to watch the league's biggest stars, including Bueckers.

Until the WNBA can figure out an audience-wide solution, there's a good chance it will be stuck in the same situation.

READ MORE: WNBA legend offers high praise to Paige Bueckers after tying record

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