Paige Bueckers is building herself into a leading sensation this season, much like Caitlin Clark was the highlight of her batch. On Thursday, Michael McManus, a friend of superstar A’ja Wilson, claimed that Bueckers is the complete opposite of Clark’s effect, particularly on how fans use the Dallas Wings rookie to drop talented Black first-years.
Speaking on X/Twitter, McManus also claimed that Bueckers’ talent and race, despite trying to present herself in the same pool as her fellow batchmates, is still being used in the same way as Clark’s then.
“The funniest thing about race in the WNBA, Paige is the antithesis of how fans view CC in sports. Yet, as a white woman, black men and other fans are still using her whiteness to refute and dismiss other talented black women in the league, specifically Kiki.”
“Y’all was puttin Sonia Citron n Kiki Iriafen in Paige Bueckers talks,” McManus added. “Very shameful.”
Averaging 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists this season, Paige Bueckers was drafted first overall by the Wings. She played four seasons for the UConn Huskies and helped the team win the 2025 National Championship. She averaged 19.8 points and 4.6 assists in college.
Meanwhile, Kiki Iriafen, which McManus had mentioned, also had a wonderful college stint. She played for Stanford in three seasons, spending her final at USC. She averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds before the Washington Mystics chose her fourth overall in the Draft.
Both players had been impressive for their teams. However, Paige Bueckers and the Wings face more struggles, as they are currently 1-11 in the standings. Meanwhile, Iriafen’s Mystics are 4-6.
The Wings and the Mystics will face each other on Sunday, June 22.
Paige Bueckers shared what she’d learned over her WNBA stint
Before Dallas’ matchup against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, the WNBA shared a clip on X/Twitter showing Paige Bueckers sharing what she’d learned in her first month with the league. The 23-year-old revealed that she discovered a lot of ideas thanks to the Wings’ system.
“Learned a lot, I think there’s a lot of new terminology through the system that we have that has been very new and I’m trying to process it all and get all the terms right,” Bueckers said. “You have stuff that you used before, but now there’s new terminology here in the W, and then the pace and physicality is something that I’m learning every day.”
Get to know a little bit more about 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers ✨
Fresh off a career-high 35-PT performance vs. the Mercury, Paige hits the court again tonight as the Wings take on the Aces at 10pm/ET on ION!
WNBA Commissioner’s Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/86uANXgChj
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 13, 2025
Despite the Wings’ precarious standing, Paige Bueckers remains optimistic about her team, believing that they’ll have their time soon.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
