Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers gave fans a scare Sunday night when she was knocked to the floor during her team’s 90-82 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks in Arlington, Texas, departing the game with 3:33 left on the clock and never coming back.
The incident unfolded when Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike was dribbling upcourt, got fouled, and lost her footing. Ogwumike stumbled into Bueckers’ legs, sending the second-year player falling straight backward onto the floor.
When Bueckers landed, the back of her head appeared to make contact with the hardwood, and the 24-year-old immediately reached up to grab her head in response.
After spending a brief moment lying face down on the court, Bueckers managed to walk off on her own, though Wings staff members stayed close on either side of her as she continued holding her head and walked with a slight limp.
Before leaving the floor, Bueckers embraced Ogwumike after both players got to their feet. The two share something in common off the court as well — both were named to the WNBA All-Star Game set for July 25 in Chicago.
Prior to her exit, Bueckers had put together a strong performance, leading all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 2 of 4 attempts from beyond the arc, while adding five assists and four rebounds across 32 minutes. Ogwumike paced the Sparks, who fell to 10-15, with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Team officials offered no update on Bueckers’ condition after the final buzzer. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, who was the No. 1 overall draft pick out of Connecticut, had been averaging 20.7 points and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 38.1% from three-point range heading into Sunday’s contest.
With the win, Dallas improved to 17-8, good for fourth place in the WNBA standings and just a half-game back of the Las Vegas Aces for the third spot.
