WNBA rookie Paige Bueckers channels her inner-Stephen Curry in message to Wings: 'We'll figure this thing out'

The Dallas Wings have struggled despite a strong rookie season from Paige Bueckers and are currently sitting at the bottom of the WNBA standings. However, Bueckers is looking toward the future and quoted Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry in a message to the franchise. 

"I mean, just stick with it. Whoever we have in that locker room, whoever puts on a Wings jersey that night, that's who we're going to war with," Bueckers said on Friday after a 78-100 loss to the Atlanta Dream, the team's seventh consecutive loss, which dropped them to a 9-31 record.

"...I remember Steph Curry, before the Warriors became the Warriors," Bueckers continued. "He tweeted out like, 'Just stick with us. We're going to figure it out.' That's the message... I just have this undying belief in it."

Curry, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, is considered one of the best players in league history, but he also faced some struggles at the beginning of his career. 

Golden State did not have a winning record until Curry's fourth season with the franchise. Two years later, the Warriors won a championship. The trio of Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green turned Golden State into a dynasty with four NBA titles together from 2015 to 2022. Now, after the emergence of Curry, the Warriors rank third with the most championships (seven) and Finals appearances (10) in NBA history, trailing only the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

It's hard to predict whether the Wings will achieve that kind of success, but it seems Bueckers has a blueprint to follow. The franchise won three championships when they were known as the Detroit Shock. However, the Wings' only winning season since then was a 22-18 record in 2023, when they advanced to the WNBA semifinals. 

Bueckers arrived in the WNBA fresh off an NCAA national championship run with UConn -- a program that has not lost more than eight games in a single season since 1992-93. However, she made it clear during the WNBA preseason that her focus as a rookie was going to be on getting better and not wins and losses.

The Wings still have four regular-season games remaining. Despite her team's struggles -- Dallas was officially eliminated from playoff contention last week -- Bueckers has put on a solid campaign and is the favorite to win the league's Rookie of the Year award.

She became the fastest newbie in WNBA history to secure 500 points and 100 assists, as well as the fastest player to reach 50 rebounds in her first season. On Aug. 21, Bueckers registered 44 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, tying Cynthia Cooper-Dyke's 1997 record for the most points in a single game by a rookie.

Dallas will return to the court on Monday for a road game against the Minnesota Lynx, the No. 1 team in the standings.