Paige Bueckers has officially made her leap to the professional stage. The standout UConn guard was selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft, marking a monumental moment in her basketball career. This comes just a week after leading the Huskies to a national championship to cap off her collegiate journey.
A Collegiate Career to Remember
Already for long, Bueckers, 23, had been projected as the top pick and she declared for the WNBA Draft during Game 3 of the Women's Championship. Her craziness was balanced by sheer unrelenting determination and accomplishment with numbers to back it up. Over 4 years at C-steps, Buckers averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.1 steals. From distance, she was a 42 percent shooter on triples.
Bueckers locked in and improved in March Madness, scoring an average of 24.8 ppg and posting another 48% from 3-point range on the Huskies' deep run. One of her most famous games was Twin in Sweet 16 against Oklahoma, a 40-point eruption with 29 in the second half on 6-of-8 from downtown.
Records Queed at UConn
Earlier in January, Bueckers reached the 2,000th point benchmark in only 102 games. This was the fastest of any player ever in UConn history, sweeping past Maya Moore’s record by six games. Plus, all-time with Moore and Breanna Stewart, the only players in program history to score 2,000 points in addition to 400 boards, 400 assists, and 200 steals with their collegiate careers.
There were moments of misery in daylight for Bueckers despite all the awards she managed to secure. An injury-riddled sophomore year with a fractured tibia and a lost 2022–23 season to a torn ACL are the two big blots Bueckers will remember. A minor knee sprain even stapled her for two games this season.
Could Have Waited?
It was thought that perhaps Bueckers could postpone her WNBA debut myrmidon the ongoing negotiations of the CBA by the league and its player union. Issues of rookie salary and rumors of a player strike wedged Bueckers' entry into another 3x3 women's basketball league, the emerging Unrivaled circuit.
The decision was made to finish both playing in the WNBA and sign a three-year deal with Unrivaled at a higher annual rate than any first-year player in the WNBA.
Booming Success
Under Unrivaled, she is going to hit an average of $222,000 per season as opposed to the WNBA rookie pay of $78,831. Her WNBA rookie contract is believed to be worth $348,198 over four years; yet early on in her professional life the two-sport athlete is equally secure in terms of income.
Unrivaled Women's Basketball was a balance intended to litigiously-help female basketball players avoid having to chase downs in the WNBA off-season.
Wings Sign Their Franchise Player
The Dallas Wings were picked to take the top seed by the draft lottery after playing 9–31 in 2024. The franchise is still in a rebuilding phase, having lost All-Star Satou Sabally. Arike Ogunbowale averaged 22.9 points per game last season and remains an integral member.
Head coach Chris Koclanes made it clear how much the team values Bueckers:
“This is not just a draft pick, it's a building block. Paige brings leadership, elite shot-making, and an understanding of the game you don’t teach. Pairing her with Arike gives us one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league.”
Full List of 2025 WNBA Draft First-Round Picks
Here’s a breakdown of the 2025 WNBA Draft first-round selections:
1. Dallas Wings – Paige Bueckers (UConn)
2. Seattle Storm – Dominique Malonga (France)
3. Washington Mystics – Sonia Citron (Notre Dame)
4. Washington Mystics – Kiki Iriafen (USC)
5. Golden State Valkyries – Juste Jocyté (Lithuania)
6. Washington Mystics – Georgia Amoore (Kentucky)
7. Connecticut Sun – Aneesah Morrow (LSU)
8. Connecticut Sun – Saniya Rivers (NC State)
9. Los Angeles Sparks – Sarah Ashlee Barker (Alabama)
10. Chicago Sky – Aja Sivka (Slovenia)
11. Chicago Sky – Hailey Van Lith (TCU)
12. Dallas Wings – Aziaha James (NC State)