NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 14: Paige Bueckers poses for a photo with Cathy Engelbert, the commissioner of the WNBA, after being the number one overall pick by the Dallas Wings on April 14, 2025 at The Shed in New York. (Photo: Catalina Fragoso | NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK — Fresh off a legendary run with the UConn Huskies, Paige Bueckers is wasting no time embracing her next challenge — taking the court with the Dallas Wings. With her usual blend of poise and purpose, the former college standout is ready to thrive in a sports city that lives and breathes its teams.
“Dallas is a sports city,” Bueckers said during Monday night’s WNBA Draft media availability. “So I’m super excited for the support, the new wave of being there, being in a new city, being with a new team and conquering those challenges as a group.”
With an already solid core in place and the electric pairing of Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale on the horizon, the Wings are quickly becoming one of the most intriguing squads heading into the 2025 WNBA season.
Bueckers is coming off a sensational college basketball career in which she and the UConn Huskies emerged victorious in this year’s NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks, the reigning championship team. A highly decorated point guard with a dynamic court vision and selfless playing style, Bueckers brings remarkable poise and hustle that will strengthen the Wings’ resolve in 2025.
As the sixth UConn Huskies player to be drafted as the No. 1 overall pick, Bueckers looks forward to playing for the Wings organization with head coach Chris Koclanes and Curt Miller, the team’s general manager. The 23-year-old native of Hopkins, Minnesota, is elated about her new opportunity.
Paige Bueckers chats with Holly Rowe of ESPN after being drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings at The Shed in New York on Monday, Apr. 15, 2025. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
“I’m super excited to be there,” Bueckers stated. “We’ve got great pieces, a great ownership, great GMs, great coaches. So the entire organization from up to down, I’m extremely excited for it.”
When Bueckers grew up in Minnesota, she looked up to the likes of Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird, coincidentally, two greats with the Huskies. At age five, she did not just begin playing basketball — it became her life.
On Dec. 12, 2020, Bueckers began her collegiate career in Storrs, Connecticut, under the guidance of Geno Auriemma, a then 11-time championship-wining head coach. It was evident that Bueckers possessed dynamic scoring abilities and hustle on the defensive end.
In 29 games during her freshman season, Bueckers averaged 20 points per game (PPG), 5.8 assists per game (APG) and shot 46.4% beyond the arc. Knee injuries shortened her sophomore season and caused her to miss her junior campaign.
After missing the 2022-’23 season, Bueckers returned to form in her redshirt junior season, showcasing her offensive and defensive prowess to lead the UConn Huskies to the Final Four. Coming up a game short against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Bueckers returned for her senior year, determined to close out her career with a championship.
Overcoming a left knee sprain in UConn’s matchup against Villanova on Jan. 5, Bueckers returned to action on Jan. 15 in a 71-45 victory over St. John’s. On Jan. 19, Bueckers became the fastest player in UConn Huskies women’s basketball history to reach 2,000 career points, achieving this feat in just 102 career games.
An 87-58 victory against the Gamecocks on Feb. 16 proved to be the turning point for Bueckers and the Huskies, gaining the confidence and swagger in time for this year’s March Madness run.
Paige Bueckers comes into the WNBA immediately after winning the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball championships with the UConn Huskies. (Photo: Frank Vitucci | The Podium Finish)
From there, Bueckers went on a scoring tear, tallying 105 points in a three-game span in which she had three consecutive games of scoring 30 or more points. On Apr. 6, Bueckers tallied 17 points in an 82-59 victory to defeat the Gamecocks for this year’s championship, the 12th overall for Auriemma and the Huskies women’s basketball team.
The excitement is not just limited to Bueckers with her new team. Koclanes, head coach of the Wings, is just as elated to have a game changer for the team and the passionate Dallas sports fanbase.
“There’s just so much momentum. From free agency to all of the offseason investments with the practice facility and the arena coming, and now you add Paige to that along with our other draftees, we just want to keep it going,” Koclanes said. “We want to build on it. We’re just really excited with all that she represents, on and off the floor.
“She’s going to be such an important piece and can really have an impact immediately and helping us to establish a strong foundation here in Dallas.”
Joining her Husky teammates for a championship parade in Hartford on Sunday, Bueckers made her way to New York where she realized her dream to be drafted as a professional basketball player.
Paige Bueckers holds her new Dallas Wings jersey after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft. (Photo: Dallas Wings Basketball)
Undoubtedly, Bueckers, while sentimental about her time in UConn, may be running low on energy, but she makes no mistake — she is ready to turn the next chapter of her life and career as she meets the press before suiting up navy, volt green, blue and cyan colors of the Dallas Wings.
“It’s been fun. I’m glad New York and Storrs are pretty close to each other because there’s been a lot of back and forth,” Bueckers said. “Part of me wants to stay at school, celebrate with the team, be with them, enjoy the last moments of being in Storrs, and the other part of me has to get ready for the next chapter.
“So, it’s been a lot of back and forth, but I’m running on great fumes, grateful fumes, and wouldn’t trade it for anything, the life that I’m living. I’m extremely blessed. But it’s been a very blessed week, regardless of the outcomes or circumstances. I’m blessed and highly favored.”
