Everyone’s “Welcome to the WNBA” moment hits different — but every rookie catches hands from the refs. Cameron Brink? Averaged four fouls per game just for playing defense. Caitlin Clark? By September, she’d racked up her sixth tech just for daring to show frustration. And now? Paige Bueckers just got her initiation. One game in. One gentle swipe. One deafening whistle. Message received:  Rookies get taxed.

Funny thing is, Geno Auriemma saw this coming months ago. Back in February, when Paige was still lighting up the NCAA, Geno dropped the cold truth: “She’s the worst officiated great player in America today.” Fast forward to the W, and guess what? The refs must’ve printed that quote, framed it, and slapped a big fat “Approved” stamp on it.

And the irony? Paige’s official “Welcome to the WNBA refs” moment was so soft, you’d think she was handing out compliments, not playing defense. She rotates mid-air to contest Napheesa Collier’s drive, realizes she can’t get the block, and gently brushes Phee’s face on the way down. No slap. No swat. More of a “Whoops, my bad” breeze than actual contact. But the refs? They blew that whistle loud and clear. 

But strangely enough, Bueckers is familiar with the scenario. No, we aren’t talking NCAA. We are talking the pros.

This may have been the star guard’s official welcome, but she got the taste of officiating quite early. In her first preseason game against the Aces, Bueckers had attempted to block Jewel Loyd’s basket. She succeeded, too. But only for a second. Because even before she had high-fived her teammates, the refs had blown the whistle and called a foul. The online community had an outburst. And that went on pretty much for the whole game.

But contrary to an attitude you’d expect on disagreeing to calls, Paige was level-headed. A moment after she was called for another shooting call that game, the UConn alumna was seen striking a conversation with referee Isaac Barnett on the sideline. Fans had a hilarious reaction to that. But not today. In what was one of the most anticipated debuts, Bueckers just did not have things going her way.

The guard put up 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists across 30 minutes. She missed both of her 3 point attempts and went 3-of-10 from the field. While Napheesa Collier & Co. were already spoiling the fun, the officiating calls were the last thing fans wanted to witness.

One moment, Paige was just hooping. Next moment? Whistle. Foul. Twitter’s on fire. Rookie dues, MVP perks — call it what you want. The contact was soft, but the reaction was LOUD. And the internet? It went nuclear.

Foul Play? Fans Roast WNBA Refs for foul Call on Bueckers

One user cracked, “These Emirates refs are worse than the Sephora refs. #WNBA.”

The truth? It’s the same referees from before—just now wearing Emirates Airlines patches. Since 2025, WNBA refs have sported these patches thanks to a multiyear global partnership between the NBA and Emirates, which kicked off in February 2024. Emirates became the official global airline partner and first-ever referee jersey patch partner — debuting the logo at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, then rolling it out to the G League and WNBA in the 2024-25 season. Same refs, new bling.

Another fan griped, “WNBA refs know they be calling fouls late as hell, holy…”

But let’s pump the brakes for a sec. Late whistles? Not exactly the WNBA’s signature move. Missed calls? Oh, plenty. Wrong calls? You bet. Just ask Paige Bueckers after her phantom foul today. Or rewind to 2024—remember the Minnesota Lynx heartbreak? That brutal foul on Alanna Smith with 5.2 seconds left pretty much flipped the game and nuked their title hopes.

But true late calls? Rare. The last memorable one? Mercury vs. Aces, 2023 playoffs. That whistle lagged so hard, it could’ve been on dial-up.

One fan complained, “Horrible call lol. These refs have been verryyyy whistle happy.” Stat check: both teams in that game ended with 21 fouls each. And overall, the 2024 WNBA regular season averaged about 18.5 personal fouls per game—pretty close to the 18.8 fouls per game average in the 2023-24 NBA season. So in a way, yeah, or maybe it’s just basketball doing its thing.

A rookie sympathizer said, “Paige just experienced her first W, not a foul ‘foul.’ I know she’s missing the college refs already lol #WNBA.” That rookie tax? Even legends like Diana Taurasi have felt it. Taurasi averaged 3.4 fouls per game in her rookie season (2004), back when she was the rook. Fast forward to 2024, and Cameron Brink outdid even that — leading the entire league with 4.4 fouls per game as a rookie. The highest average for any player that year. So yeah, welcome to the W. Paige’s “rookie ref tax” is practically a rite of passage.

Finally, one frustrated fan wrote, “Istg WNBA refs want no one to win in every game.” Maybe that’s not far off—no ref bias means chaos evenly spread. The WNBA does see plenty of questionable calls, but hopefully, Paige won’t face what Caitlin Clark did last year. In 2024, fouls against Clark accounted for a whopping 17.1% of all flagrant fouls in the league. Rookie tax or not, Paige’s got the skill and grit — and the WNBA world is watching every single whistle.