UConn star Paige Bueckers taken No. 1 by Dallas Wings in WNBA Draft

In a span of eight days, UConn star guard Paige Bueckers wrapped up her illustrious collegiate career as a national champion and embarked on her professional journey as No. 1 draft pick.The Dallas Wings selected Bueckers first overall in the WNBA Draft on Monday night in New York, a move that only reaffirmed her status as the league's next top prospect and franchise-altering player.

Before the Huskies cut down the nets and celebrated a 12th national title on April 6, Bueckers delivered a stellar senior season. She averaged a team-high 19.9 points with 4.



4 rebounds and 4.6 assists across 38 games, while also shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 41.

9 percent from three-point range. In the national title game against South Carolina, she scored 17 points.Bueckers placed herself on the track to first-pick stardom years ago, however.

In 2021, she became the first freshman to win multiple awards for collegiate player of the year, and after recovering from an ACL injury that forced her to miss the entire 2022 campaign, she produced a career-high 21.9 points per game in 2023 that helped lead UConn to an undefeated Big East record and Final Four appearance.The Wings, which finished a measly 9-31 in 2024 and won the WNBA Draft Lottery for the first time in team history, didn't need much time to choose Bueckers as their new leader.

The 23-year-old has left UConn ranked first all-time in average points (19.8), third in career points (2,439), and fifth in career field goals made (931). She also became the fastest player in program history to score 2,000 career points (102 games).

Bueckers is the sixth Huskies alum to be drafted first overall, joining Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011), and Breanna Stewart (2016). UConn fans in the tri-state area will get their first look at her in the WNBA on May 27, when the Wings visit the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville..