Former UConn women’s basketball star guard Paige Bueckers will join the Dallas Wings as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft.
The Wings selected the Minnesota native with the top selection on Monday. Bueckers recently capped her stellar four-year career at UConn with a national title on April 6.
“They’ve seen every side of me, and the love there is unconditional, so I’m just forever grateful for them. I want to cherish that relationship for the rest of my life, and I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Longtime UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma recruited Bueckers out of Minnesota powerhouse-producing Hopkins where Bueckers became one of the top high school players in the country.
Bueckers admitted her dreams have come to fruition “a lot faster” than she anticipated.
“Honestly, the conversations were brief,” Bueckers said about pre-draft conversations with the Wings.
“But just for them to know or for them to know … that I’m coming in and wanting to give everything that I have to that organization. We have established that there’s … new levels of standards that are going to be set in play and there’s a new GM, there’s a new coach, new assistant coach, a whole new team.”
Chris Koclanes took over as the Wings coach in March after prior success as an assistant in the WNBA and NCAA. Curt Miller became the Wings’ executive vice president and general manager after he coached the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks.
“So we’re excited for that new fresh start,” Bueckers said.
“It’s not a rebuild. It’s just a build from where we are and excited for the new arena, new practice facility. We’re excited for the future and we only think the best is ahead.”
For Tuesday, Bueckers soaked in the reality that she went No. 1 in the draft and who helped her get there. Last year, Bueckers attended the draft as a fan when former Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark went No. 1 in a much-anticipated draft.
“Just so grateful to be here. I don’t want to take this for granted,” Bueckers said. “I’ve been focusing a lot about being present and being where my feet are. So to be at this stage, to be here, to have a lot of my supporters here, people who’ve helped me get here, it just means everything to me.”
While Bueckers went through her senior season as the anticipated No. 1 pick, she still called the moment “surreal” when she heard her name called.
Bueckers was notably the only player from this year’s women’s Final Four selected in the first round of the draft.
“I mean you don’t ever want to assume anything in life. Nothing is ever guaranteed,” Buecker said.
“For this moment to be here, and it actually happened, it’s nerve-wracking. You just have a level of excitement, nervousness, bittersweet feeling knowing that my journey at UConn’s over but excited for the next one to begin. And to be able to share that moment with the people sitting at my table and also the people not sitting at my table, they played a huge role in it.”
