{"id":392402,"date":"2026-01-07T04:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T04:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/392402\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T04:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T04:33:09","slug":"wings-star-paige-bueckers-boldly-claims-unrivaled-is-more-physical-than-the-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/392402\/","title":{"rendered":"Wings Star Paige Bueckers Boldly Claims Unrivaled Is ‘More Physical’ Than the WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers was the highlight of the 2025 WNBA<\/a> season. The 24-year-old shone despite the Wings\u2019 10-34 win-loss record, with fans eagerly awaiting her to gain more experience. Of course, fans were already missing Bueckers on the court, excited to see her play for the Unrivaled league.<\/p>\n

And while Bueckers will be ready to suit up for the WNBA next season, she has an interesting take on the 3v3 league started by fellow players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.<\/p>\n

Dallas Wings Star Paige Bueckers Opens Up About the Difference Between the WNBA and Unrivaled<\/p>\n

Unrivaled kicked off its second season on January 5, 2026. Breeze BC, which Bueckers plays for, played its very first game against the Phantom BC. Breeze, led by the Wings rookie, won 69-62. And while someone like Bueckers is more than equipped to handle the pressure, she admitted that the two experiences are vastly different.<\/p>\n

Speaking to retired WNBA legend Candace Parker during the Game, Bueckers ended up highlighting the challenges of a 3v3 league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the biggest adjustment switching from 5v5 to 3v3?\u201d Parker asked<\/a>. \u201cYeah, I think the physicality, one,\u201d Bueckers admitted. \u201cYa\u2019ll know the W is physical, but Unrivaled is even more physical than that, and then not being able to have help side\u2026you\u2019re basically on an island.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo at points you\u2019re gonna be okay with being cooked but that\u2019s not to say you\u2019re not gonna\u2026try to just defend on an island and guard your yard and keep people in front of you,\u201d Bueckers continued. \u201cBut at the same time these are the best women in the world and you\u2019re competing against them, so\u2026that\u2019s a lot different, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bueckers scored a team-high 24 points. Rickea Jackson, Dominique Malonga, Aari McDonald, Kate Martin, and Cameron Brink are the other players on Bueckers\u2019 team.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Unrivaled 2026 Season Schedule: A Closer Look at When the Likes of Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers Will Play Next<\/a><\/p>\n

Hive BC, the other new team, features Kelsey Mitchell, Sonia Citron, Ezi Magbegor, Natisha Hiedeman, Saniya Rivers, and Monique Billings.<\/p>\n

Paige Bueckers Was Excited For a New Opportunity With Unrivaled<\/p>\n

Before the season began, Bueckers spoke to the media about the new opportunity she would have with Unrivaled.<\/p>\n

Though a 3v3 league was a big step away from the usual, Bueckers was ready to take on a new challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026To have that experience playing is so much fun\u2026it\u2019s the same game we all know and love, and to have another opportunity to play that and with Phee [Napheesa Collier] and Stewie [Breanna Stewart] being the founders, you just want to support the women who came before you\u2026 to see the next generation\u2026 I think it\u2019s really important,\u201d Bueckers explained<\/a> in her interview.<\/p>\n

After their first triumph, the Breeze will face the Hive for their second game on Friday, January 9. Strategically placed between two WNBA seasons, the Unrivaled will go on until March 4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers was the highlight of the 2025 WNBA season. The 24-year-old shone despite the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-392402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}