The WNBA draft is steadily approaching and excitement from fans is at an all-time high. One player the nation has had their eyes on is UConn’s Paige Bueckers — and for good reason. The 23-year-old just led the Huskies to their 12th National Championship in the women’s March Madness tournament. She dropped 17 points and had 6 rebounds in her team’s 82-59 pounding of South Carolina two nights ago.
Advertisement
So with the WNBA draft less than six days away (April 14th), the belief is that Paige will be drafted No. 1 overall, meaning she would go to the Dallas Wings. It would make sense. On top of winning another national title, Bueckers had a stellar season, averaging nearly 20 PPG for 2024-2025.
Wings star Di’jonai Carrington is clearly excited about potentially getting Bueckers on the team. She hinted as much by leaving a comment on the young baller’s Instagram after Sunday’s victory.
However, there is no guarantee that Paige, nicknamed “Buckets,” will commit to the Wings. Reports have surfaced indicating that she has no interest in going to Dallas, but the Huskies alumna later refuted those same reports.
That said, UConn’s head coach, Geno Auriemma, threw some fuel on the fire during a recent interview with Front Office Sports. He was asked whether he heard from anyone from the Wings this season to inquire about his team, Paige specifically.
“No,” he said. “I have not. Some GMs during the course of these last 20 years will contact me to talk about players. Coaches will as well. They’ll come to practice. They’ll come to games. Struck up a relationship with a bunch of them, and some I couldn’t pick ’em out of a lineup and they draft my players and don’t even ask me anything about the kids. So, I know that kid won’t be there long. So, I don’t worry about it.”
While this is by no means an indictment of Bueckers skipping out on the Wings, it does raise some flags. As players in the WNBA continue to gain the same type of power that NBA stars do, would it be surprising for Paige to hold out on a squad? Dallas was 9-31 in 2024 and ended their season with 9 straight losses.
There’s no telling what could happen on April 14th. But with Paige Bueckers coming in for a rookie campaign and Caitlin Clark preparing for her sophomore season, the 2025 WNBA season looks to be one for the ages.
