Paige Bueckers Feels ‘Overwhelmed’ to be Chosen No. 1 Overall Choose by Dallas

Following a brutal 9-31 season, the Dallas Wings are formally in rebuild mode, and so they simply made their greatest transfer thus far. UConn basketball sensation Paige Bueckers was drafted because the No. 1 general decide within the 2025 WNBA Draft, including star energy and championship pedigree to a crew crying out for a turnaround.

Bueckers isn’t any shock to followers or analysts. Universally considered probably the most well-rounded participant in her draft class, the 6-foot guard not solely possesses expertise however a winner’s mentality and management that may alter the way forward for the Wings.

A Stellar Collegiate Career at UConn

According to TMZ Sports, Bueckers’ ascension to the highest of the draft board began on the University of Connecticut, the place she instantly established herself as one of the vital thrilling gamers in ladies’s school basketball.

Over 4 powerhouse seasons, she posted 19.8 factors, 4.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per sport because the Huskies captured their twelfth NCAA championship in 2025. Her successful performs, courtroom imaginative and prescient, and shotmaking capacity made her a protection’s worst nightmare and any WNBA crew’s dream choice.

She shone on the courtroom but in addition collected awards like {hardware} in a trophy case, together with the AP Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, and Three-time Big East Tournament MOP.

Off the Court: A Role Model in Every Sense

The 23-year-old Bueckers is a basketball legend however an achieved tutorial as properly. She earned a bachelor’s diploma in human improvement and household sciences and made the Dean’s List at UConn 4 instances. Her tutorial success exhibits she is a power to be reckoned with in lecturers and athletics.

She’s additionally gone into enterprise, securing a multi-year endorsement contract with Nike, positioning her as one of many future main figures in ladies’s basketball.

“Just an overwhelming sense of gratitude,” Bueckers stated on the draft day. “It’s super surreal just being here with other draft invitees. My teammates are here. My family’s here. Just super grateful. Been focusing on staying present. Staying where my feet are. And to be here right now, I’m just extremely blessed.”

When requested about her teammates, Bueckers instructed USA Today that she thought-about them her sisters. She was without end grateful for the entire Huskies supporting her WNBA journey.

The Future is Bright: WNBA and Beyond

Along with committing to the WNBA, Bueckers has already been proactive within the altering panorama of professional ladies’s basketball by committing to the Unrivaled League, a 3-on-3 ladies’s league that launches subsequent season. With her identify, the league will get prompt legitimacy and hype.