With the result of an anonymous survey of WNBA Gms being published on Wednesday, it was revealed that most executives around the league would start a franchise with Dallas Wings guard and 2025 number one overall pick Paige Bueckers.
The news came as a shock to many, who assumed that Indiana Fever guard and 2024 number one overall pick, Caitlin Clark, would take the top spot.
Paige Bueckers leads the GM vote for a player to sign if they were starting a franchise 👀 pic.twitter.com/VftWmhVqMQ
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 5, 2026
At Wednesday’s practice, Buckers was asked about how much being viewed so favorably by executives means to her.
“Yeah, it’s really cool just to have that mutual respect amongst people who live in this area or live in this space and who really understand the game,” Bueckers stated.
“And there’s so many amazing basketball players to choose from. I feel like there’s so many people I would choose to start my team with. So for them to think that highly of me, I’m very grateful, very blessed. And yeah, I mean, yeah, just grateful.
Paige Bueckers reacts to the annual WNBA GM survey that named her as the top player to launch a franchise: “For them to think that highly of me, I’m very grateful, very blessed.” pic.twitter.com/p36TqLmpDF
— Myah Taylor (@t_myah) May 6, 2026
Clark missed all but 13 games last season with various soft tissue injuries, so its hard to fault the GMs for waiting until she takes the floor again and shows that she’s back to her All-WNBA form to give her the top spot.
In a perfect bit of scheduling, Clark and Buckers will open their seasons against one another on Saturday, in a game that will actually feature the last four first overall picks in the league.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.