Bueckers wins PBWA’s Tamika Catchings Award

March 12, 2026 – Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings has won the PBWA’s Tamika Catchings Award, which honors the WNBA player who best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and public.

Bueckers’ commitment to working with the media was on display throughout 2025. A week after winning a national title at Connecticut, Bueckers was selected first overall by the Dallas Wings, and immediately took on the responsibility of serving as the face of the franchise. Following her rookie year in the WNBA, Bueckers played a prominent role in her first season playing in the Unrivaled Basketball League. Through it all, Bueckers embraced every opportunity to promote the game and to help media members tell her story.

“First of all, very grateful,” Bueckers said in a recorded statement. “I know how much the
media does for the game of basketball and how much it pushes the narratives and gets us out there, nationally and globally, and so I really appreciate it. As much as us players sometimes don’t want to do it after — win or loss, we’ve got to take it on the chin — it’s a part of basketball, and it’s part of growing the game. So I’m very grateful for everybody in the media and everybody who helps push this game.”

Other nominees for the award included Alysha Clark of the Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics; Satou Sabally of the Phoenix Mercury; Shatori Walker-Kimbrough of the Atlanta Dream; and Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty. The nominations and final vote were conducted by members of the PBWA’s WNBA chapter, created in 2021 and chaired by Howard Megdal.

“As somebody who’s covered Paige since high school, I really appreciate all that she has done to help foster that spirit of cooperation between media and the players,” Megdal said. “Win or lose — and it’s usually win — she is always forthright and helps us take our readers inside the game.”

Curt Miller, the executive vice president and general manager of the Wings, said in a statement: “We are thrilled that Paige received this recognition from the PBWA. Being one of the brightest stars in the WNBA, she is constantly in demand and consistently handles those requests with grace, thoughtfulness and care. You can see through her professional interactions with the media that she truly understands their importance and the role they play in growing the game of women’s basketball.”

The PBWA each year honors a WNBA player, coach and PR professional who go the extra mile to work with the media:

• The Val Ackerman Award goes to the best team (or in special circumstances, league) public-relations professional, and is named after the first president of the WNBA, Val Ackerman, who possesses a keen understanding of the importance of media and has worked hard to empower us to do our best work.

• The Anne Donovan Award goes to the coach (or in special circumstances, executive) who is most available and helpful to the media, and is named after the late Anne Donovan, an icon of the sport as a player, head coach and executive.

• The Tamika Catchings Award goes to the player who best fosters a spirit of cooperation with the media, and is named after the former Indiana Fever star, who never said no to a chance to promote the league.

The awards are modeled after similar honors that the PBWA bestows annually on the NBA side, to the player (Magic Johnson Award), coach (Rudy Tomjanovich Award) and PR staff (Brian McIntyre Award) who consistently go above and beyond to work with the media and the public.

Founded in 1973, the Professional Basketball Writers Association is a nonprofit membership organization for journalists who regularly cover the NBA and the WNBA for newspapers, magazines, wire services and online outlets. At present, the PBWA has approximately 230 members, representing more than 80 outlets.