Paige Bueckers was selected by the Dallas Wings with the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday.
Bueckers was the consensus No. 1 prospect throughout her senior season at UConn, as she helped to lead the Huskies to a 12th national championship. It was her first with the school after a five-year journey that saw her overcome multiple knee injuries, which held her out of her sophomore season and for all of her junior year.
But Bueckers battled back.
She averaged 19.9 points and 4.6 assists this past season. She scored a career-high 40 points in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, as her Huskies dominated the women’s field with ease.
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She’ll join a fortunate Wings organization that leapfrogged the Los Angeles Sparks, who had the highest odds to land the No. 1 overall pick before the lottery.
Bueckers will join a backcourt that features four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbawale, creating a duo that’ll be hard to defend as the Wings try to get back to the postseason. Bueckers has a chance to make an instant impact in Dallas, similar to that of 2024 first overall pick Caitlin Clark, who led the Indiana Fever to the playoffs in her first season.
Dallas is coming off a 9-31 season, its worst since 2011, when the franchise played in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Wings last had the No. 1 pick in 2021 and selected Charli Collier, who played with them for just two seasons.
The 2025 WNBA season is set to begin on May 16, with the Wings hosting the Minnesota Lynx to open the season.
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