Even on a historic night for the rookie, the challenges were still present as the Wings fell to the Sparks on a last-second basket from Kelsey Plum. Bueckers has shined, but after playing for the most successful college basketball program, she is now playing for a team that is just 9-27 and already ruled out of playoff contention.

Just one week ago, Lobo's fellow WNBA legend Candace Parker talked about Washington Mystics guard and the third overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft, Sonia Citron, possibly making the ROY race interesting and giving Paige a run for her money as the league's top rookie this season.

Paige Bueckers put together not just one of the best shooting performances by a WNBA rookie, but one of the best performances ever by any player.