Dallas Wings Rookie Enters Caitlin Clark Territory After Historic Game

Dallas Wings Rookie Enters Caitlin Clark Territory After Historic Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Paige Bueckers marked her return from a one-game injury absence with another big performance on Thursday night. The 23-year-old dropped 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, to go along with four rebounds, five assists, a steal and two triples to help lead the Dallas Wings to a 98-89 victory against the Phoenix Mercury.

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It wasn’t just Bueckers who made waves in this one, though. It was, in fact, another Wings rookie who made history on Thursday with one of her best performances of her fledgling WNBA career.

The league took to social media to announce a bit of history for 22-year-old guard Aziaha James, who went off against the Mercury for a career-high 28 points on 10-of-20 from the floor, six rebounds, six assists and five triples in 38 minutes of action.

“Aziaha James joins ELITE COMPANY.  James becomes the 5th rookie in WNBA history to tally a 25+ PTS, 5+ AST, 5+ REB, and 5+ 3PM game—joining Caitlin Clark (3x), Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Diana Taurasi,” the WNBA posted on X.

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As indicated in the post, James was able to join Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, among others, in the WNBA history books with the Wings rookie’s performance on Thursday night.

While James might not be in the same orbit as Clark — or at least not yet — the fact that she was mentioned in the same breath as the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year speaks volumes.

Thanks in part to James’ heroics, the Wings have now recorded their fifth win in seven games, improving to 6-13 on the season.

Related: Paige Bueckers Grabs Attention With Pregame Outfit After Big WNBA News

Related: Caitlin Clark Gets Official All-Star Game News on Thursday

Related: WNBA Sends Message to Paige Bueckers After Her Return From Injury

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.