Nika Muhl Discusses How Watching Paige Bueckers’ Injury Comeback at UConn Helped With Her ACL Recovery

The star-studded 2024 WNBA Draft has given the basketball world a few generational players like as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. However, fans seem to have forgotten that another talented player was also in that class. Seattle Storm guard Nika Muhl was the 14th overall pick in that class of 24 but hasn’t been able to showcase her potential yet.

An ACL injury forced her to be on the sidelines for the entirety of the 2025 WNBA season. Although the process was extremely difficult, her former college teammate Paige Bueckers has helped her during her rehab.

Muhl may have been a second-round pick, but she was one of the biggest names of her draft class. During her four seasons at UConn, she developed into a reliable guard on both ends of the court. That said, she was still a raw player ahead of her rookie season.

As a result, Muhl played just 16 games, while receiving only 3.6 minutes on average. In a common practice for WNBA players who aren’t superstars, Muhl went overseas during the offseason to continue to earn a livable salary. That decision turned out to be a pivotal moment in her career, as she suffered an ACL injury.

However, it didn’t take long for her optimism to settle in. “Having in mind all of my previous teammates at UConn who have gone through this,” Muhl said in an interview with ESPN.

“Specifically, Paige, to see her go through it has shown me that I can do it too,” Muhl added.

Bueckers’ ACL injury happened during a pickup game in August 2022, which forced her to miss the entire 2022-23 season. Bueckers would eventually return for the following season, where she went on to have her best statistical year of her college career.

Muhl was teammates with Bueckers her entire time at UConn. The two were quite close, which led to Muhl becoming extremely grateful for Bueckers’ approach to the game during her recovery. Of course, the Storm guard didn’t expect to be in the same situation down the line, but is glad she had that experience through Bueckers to fall back on.

“When you are next to somebody every single day and you see them go through stuff like that, you get a different sense of appreciation for the game. You see how much they miss the game, and you don’t understand it until you’re in it,” Muhl said.

Bueckers wasn’t the only teammate Muhl got to see bounce back from adversity. Azzi Fudd also recovered from a torn ACL during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 college seasons. Muhl has at least two separate examples that she can use as references to return to full power.

Unfortunately, Muhl hasn’t stepped on a basketball court in over a year. However, she is expected to be in shape for the 2026 season, which she hopes will allow her to truly come into her own.