Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings point guard and WNBA Rookie of the Year, took the spotlight in women’s basketball this year. The 24-year-old arrived in Dallas after being the No. 1 selection in the WNBA draft in April, capping off an impressive collegiate run where she helped the University of Connecticut win a national championship title.

Bueckers represents the best of our star athletes. The energy and determination she brings to the game and her dedication to her teammates and community make her a finalist for 2025 Texan of the Year.

Born in Edina, Minn., Bueckers started playing basketball when she was around five years old. Her father coached her until middle school, and by the time she reached Hopkins High School, she was the No. 1 recruit in the country for the 2020 class. At the University of Connecticut, she became the face of a storied program, returning from injury to help deliver the Huskies their 12th NCAA title.

When she arrived in Dallas, the question wasn’t whether she’d make an impact — it was how quickly. The answer came fast. She was a starter in all 36 appearances for the Wings and averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals this season. Her 44 points against the Los Angeles Sparks set a WNBA record for the highest single-game scoring performance by a rookie.

She’s making Wings games must-watch basketball. At home games, the stands are filled with fans wearing Bueckers’ No. 5 jersey and young girls sporting face-framing braids and a ponytail to match her signature game-day hairstyle.

Ahead of their August showdown with the Indiana Fever, the Wings moved the game from their usual home court in Arlington to the American Airlines Center due to high demand for tickets to see the matchup between Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. The Wings didn’t make it to the playoffs this year, but Bueckers gave the city something to cheer for.

But more than her athletic ability and impressive jump shots, Bueckers has shown a humility we wish was more common among stars like her. In interviews, she’s quick to give credit to her teammates, coaches and God. In 2021, at the ESPN ESPYS, after being recognized as the best college athlete in women’s sports, she used her acceptance speech to celebrate and honor Black women and their contributions to the sport.

In Dallas, Bueckers has teamed up with Verizon and Dick’s Sporting Goods to coach a youth clinic and exhibition game, eager to give back to the community and make the city feel like home while she’s here. And when she’s not training, she’s probably at another Dallas game — popping up at Stars and Cowboys games, a Trinity FC match and the Mavericks.

From her stylish game day tunnel outfits to TikTok videos dancing with her teammates to her smooth, disciplined basketball, it’s a pleasure to watch her — and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Beginning today, we are running our Texan of the Year finalists in a countdown to naming the 2025 honorees on Sunday, Dec. 28. You can follow all of the finalists as they are published at dallasnews.com/opinion/texanoftheyear.

The Hawks would love to forget Friday’s embarrassing loss to the Detroit Pistons.

After an entertaining first quarter, Atlanta was dominated over the final three quarters and ended up losing by 27 points to the top team in the Eastern Conference. They are hoping for a quick bounce back today at home vs Philadelphia and will could use a win to get back on track.

The game is getting closer to tipoff and both teams have announced their starting lineups:

Hawks

G-Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- Dyson Daniels

F- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Onyeka Okongwu

76ers

G- Quentin Grimes

G- VJ Edgecombe

F- Paul George

F- Dominick Barlow

C- Joel Embiid

Deeper look at Atlanta

When previewing the game this morning, our own Rohan Raman took a deeper look at the Hawks’ advanced numbers today:

“Atlanta’s offense has been surprisingly solid without Trae Young, but the Pistons game was a poor showing. The Hawks are 12th in points, 10th in FG%, 10th in 3P%, 17th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (24th in OREB, 22nd in DREB), 1st in assists, and 18th in turnovers per game. They’re 16th in offensive rating this year.

On a per-game basis, the Hawks’ defense rank 21st in points allowed, 18th in FG% allowed, 9th in 3P% allowed, 23rd in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals, and 12th in blocks. They’re 14th in defensive rating on the year, which puts them in a slightly above-average tier despite their recent run of poor performance on end.

Philadelphia is still figuring out how their offense operates when everyone is healthy, but Tyrese Maxey is always dangerous and they quietly have a reasonably deep roster. They’re 16th in points, 24th in FG%, 17th in 3P%, 6th in FT%, 9th in rebounds (10th in OREB, 9th in DREB), 20th in assists, and 11th in turnovers per game. They’re 15th in offensive rating this season.

After a difficult night against a tough Detroit defense, the matchup gets slightly easier against the 76ers. Even so, they’ve been playing good defense as of late – albeit against poor competition. They are 12th in points allowed, 8th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3P% allowed, 21st in rebounds allowed, 19th in steals, and 2nd in blocks. They’re 9th in defensive rating, so this would be the second straight game for the Hawks against a top-ten defense by defensive rating.”

Because they are at home and will have the best player on the floor, I like the Hawks to win this game. Quentin Grimes is someone who has given the Hawks trouble before, and rookie VJ Edgecombe has had a great start to his career. Still, I like Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu to lead the Hawks to a win today at home.

More Atlanta Hawks News:

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta University’s Healthy Grandparents program had its Christmas party Sunday.

Santa is continuing his trip across the csra and was at the party to give presents to the kids.

The program was started in 1999 to support grandparents raising their children.

They help with necessary services like food assistance and transportation.

We spoke with one of the grandparents about the program.

“My grandchildren love it. They do a lot of things going on the year, like summer camp and all that stuff, book bag, getaways,” said Carolyn Thompson.

The program has helped more than 660 families, 900 grandparents, and 1,300 grandchildren.

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