Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez has called for Paige Bueckers to win the WNBA Most Valuable Player award. Bueckers scored 26 points in the Wings’ 87-82 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday.
Bueckers is averaging 20.6 points and 5.8 assists per game this season, leading the Wings to a 26-16 record with two regular season games remaining. The 24-year-old deserves credit for her impressive season, but winning the MVP award would be a huge surprise.
Jose Fernandez explains why Paige Bueckers is ‘more than deserving’ of WNBA MVP
Jose Fernandez believes Paige Bueckers has earned MVP consideration for leading the Dallas Wings to a much-improved 2026 season compared to the last. The Wings have already won 16 more games than last year with two games left.
Although Bueckers averaged 19.2 points per game in her rookie year, she has become a much better player in her second season. She is shooting 39.9 percent from beyond the three-point line, an increase of nearly 7%.
Fernandez said, “I think her being more attack-minded has really opened up a lot of things for her… I was just giving her a hard time. She made the incredible shot right to end the half, but she missed a free throw. So, I gave her a hard time about missing free throws… But her being able to space the floor and shoot it now, it opens up so much stuff. Because now she’s got more room to operate.
“But if she hasn’t shown that she’s an MVP candidate and All-WNBA First Team in her second year to lead this team from 10 wins to 26 wins, [then what does]? So, she’s more than deserving.”
Even though Fernandez thinks she is “more than deserving” of the MVP award, Bueckers is unlikely to win it ahead of A’ja Wilson, Olivia Miles or Caitlin Clark. However, just being involved in the MVP conversation is a massive achievement for Bueckers.
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