Paige Bueckers, Top Draft Pick, Now In WNBA Concussion Protocol

Forbes

3 days ago

Paige Bueckers' WNBA career has been headed in the right direction after she was the Number One overall pick by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 Draft. But a head-to-head point guard battle with the Chicago Sky's Courtney Vandersloot on Thursday may have become literally head-to-head. That is what may have landed the Wings burgeoning star in the WNBA's concussion protocol for at least two games.
The words 'may have become' apply here since it wasn't super clear at the time that Bueckers and Vandersloot had bumped heads forcibly enough to concuss Bueckers. The former UConn star point guard had grabbed an offensive rebound before driving to the basket with Vandersloot guarding her. During the drive is when the cranium-to-cranium contact may have occurred. The clue was when the Wings' point guard stayed grounded with her hands covering her face for a short moment after Vandersloot had been called for a foul. Bueckers did stay on the court playing after the play. So perhaps no one knew how hard her head had been hit.
Bueckers ended playing 36 minutes in the game against the Sky, totaling with 15 points, five rebounds, eight assists, three steals and three blocks. This continued the impressive six-game start to her pro career that's amassed per game averages of 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, two steals and one block and made her the first ever WNBA player to start off a career with at least 80 points and 40 assists over that game span. That has left her fifth in the WNBA league overall in assists. She's also the early leader for Rookie of the Year honors, positioned second in scoring, third in rebounding, first in assists, second in steals and tied for second in blocks among the first-year players. Plus, in the course of a victory over the Connecticut Sun on May 27, Bueckers became the first rookie since 2005 to tally at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game. You could say that she's been writing a new Paige in WNBA history.
The length of Bueckers' absence will depend on how severe her concussion is. Concussions are a very common type of traumatic brain injury but encompass a wide range of possibilities. A concussion is when a blow or jolt to the head causes the brain rattle back and forth inside the skull, leading to the stretching and damage of brain cells, which in turn disrupts brain functioning in some way. These disruptions and the resulting symptoms like headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, balance issues, sensitivity to light and noise and personality changes can last minutes to days to even weeks and months.
It's already been determined that Bueckers will miss today's rematch against the Sky and the June 3 game against the Seattle Storm. The soonest she could return will be for the June 6 titlt against the Los Angeles Sparks. Any return will only be after sh's been cleared by physicians. This will include an interview and neurological exam to check for any remaining symptoms.
A single concussion in most cases does not have any long-term negative consequences. However, that doesn't mean that you should try to quickly in the words of Taylor Swift shake it off and return to whatever you were doing whether it's playing a sport or head butting others. Residual symptoms could affect your reaction time and ability and thus leave you more susceptible to further injury like another concussion. Plus, multiple concussions is when you have to start worrying about more permanent changes in the brain and more serious effects. .
While basketball players may not be at the same risk as football players (both types) and ice hockey players, it's important to remember that basketball can be quite the contact sport. A study published in 2022 in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine did find that from 1997 to 2020, a total of 70 concussions among 55 players were reported in the WNBA. This translated to an average of 2.9 per season. On average, players returned from concussions after missing 3.8 games and 17.9 days.
Paige Bueckers will probably want to turn the page on this part of her career sooner than later. But she shouldn't rush it. After all, she'll have plenty of time to be the star WNBA player many feel that she will soon be.