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Paige Bueckers and Sue Bird gathered inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., as different points in their lives were celebrated. Bueckers led a courtside coronation. The Huskies blew out South Carolina to win UConn’s first national championship in nine years. With the souvenir net draped around her neck after her final college game, Bueckers said she felt an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude.
Bird also appeared grateful for her moment in the spotlight. She was present, in part, to co-host an alternate ESPN telecast with her best friend and former UConn teammate Diana Taurasi. But in the first half of the Huskies’ eventual 23-point victory, Bird received a warm ovation from fans as she was honored as a new inductee in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
That both Bird and Bueckers were in the same place at the same time was a fitting reminder of the current moment in women’s basketball. A new guard is entering the professional ranks while an older generation looks on — and receives acknowledgement — from the arena rafters.
Over the last three years, WNBA trailblazers like Bird, Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker have retired from the league. Bueckers, who is expected to be selected with the No. 1 pick in Monday night’s WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, represents a potential pillar for its future.
She joins last year’s top rookies, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, as cornerstones of the WNBA’s latest chapter. Who better to be a new baton carrier than someone who faced constant questions about pressure and legacy throughout her college career? As the WNBA attempts to build on its historic 2024 season, Bueckers’ arrival is as close as the league can come to adding another ambassador prepared to help compound its growth.
“It’s so popular right now, so it’s at a really good place,” Wings general manager Curt Miller said. “I’m excited about this draft class keeping the momentum going.”
Bueckers is used to high expectations. At UConn, she faced endless reminders of them. Chairs from each of the program’s Final Four appearances were in the Huskies’ practice gym. Banners for All-Americans and national titles hang on walls. Some Storrs, Conn., highway welcome signs denote how many championships the Huskies have won. After last week, that’s now an NCAA-record 12.
Bueckers is aware of each marker. She learned to refine her mindset and become more process-focused to manage. Over five years, she became the face of a college program that has an arguably higher profile than almost every WNBA franchise, navigating not only her own growing stardom but also a changing climate in college sports. She is part of a generation of college players who have conducted themselves like pros while still in school. Photo and commercial shoots become part of off days. She already has partnerships with Nike, Intuit, Google and Bose. And Friday, Bueckers — having never stepped foot on a WNBA court — was part of Ally’s promotional materials for becoming the official banking partner of the WNBA.
Eight days after finishing her collegiate career, Bueckers will officially turn the page in her story when she walks across the draft stage. She’ll almost certainly be headed to Dallas to join a franchise that lacks the same historic relevance as her alma mater. Though the Wings technically have three championships to their name, those titles belong to the Detroit Shock, which later relocated to Tulsa and eventually moved to Texas.
“I can’t begin to tell you how much this just injects energy, enthusiasm, as we head into the ’25 season,” Miller said in December after the Wings were awarded the No. 1 pick.
As a three-time All-American, three-time Big East Player of the Year and one-time Naismith Player of the Year, Bueckers can look to Clark as a road map through her rookie season.
The former Iowa star’s adjustment to the pros took only a few weeks. Clark exploded, adjusting to the WNBA’s physicality, finding her stroke and meshing with her teammates en route to an All-WNBA first-team season. The Indiana Fever returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
“Much like last year when we thought Caitlin Clark’s game was going to translate right away, and for the most part it did, I think Paige’s game is going to translate right away,” UConn alum and Hall of Fame forward Rebecca Lobo said. “Caitlin and Paige are very different players. … But their impact can be just as significant.”
Teammates will feel Bueckers’ impact in games — she is a willing passer and will create even better looks for Dallas’ existing star guard Arike Ogunbowale. And it will be felt league-wide — the WNBA knows she’s a TV draw, with two Wings games on ABC this season after none last year.
In Dallas, team executives have also long recognized the impact the No. 1 pick would have. When the Wings won the lottery in mid-November, nine days after Miller was announced as their new GM, they also had yet to hire a coach. But that Sunday, when the ping-pong balls bounced in their favor, Miller knew it was transformative.
The Wings, who hired Chris Koclanes as their coach in December, were already in a growth moment when they learned of their good fortune. They had been planning a 2026 move from Arlington to Dallas, boosting their arena seating from around 6,000 to 9,000. A new practice facility was already in the works, too, and they added more national partners than ever last season. Dallas rebudgeted its ticket revenue three times in 2024 and sold two half-percent ownership stakes at a league-record $208 million valuation.
Here’s a look at the order of Monday’s draft:
