Paige Bueckers

Paige Bueckers is a professional basketball player and guard for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA, where she was drafted as the first overall pick in 2025. Prior to that, she played for the University of Connecticut. She was named Gatorade National Player of the Year and received the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year award in 2020, prior to her college career. During her time at UConn, she established herself as a top player, being named AP Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA National Player of the Year, and the recipient of the John R. Wooden Award, all in 2021. Her outstanding performance earned her the Wade Trophy in 2025, the same year she won her first NCAA championship and was unanimously voted the WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Nicknamed "Paige Buckets," she filed a trademark for this nickname, and she has been a three-time recipient of several prestigious titles. These include Unanimous first-team All-American, First-team All-American – AP, USBWA, and All-American – WBCA. In addition, she received the Nancy Lieberman Award twice. Bueckers attended Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN, receiving national high school player of the year honors. In her first collegiate season, she was a unanimous first-team All-American and became the first freshman to earn a major national women's college player of the year award -- winning all four for which she was eligible.

During her collegiate career, she set program records for both assists by a freshman and single-game assists. In her senior year, she led UConn to a national championship victory and set another record for scoring the fastest 1,000 career points in 55 games. She announced her entry into the 2025 WNBA draft following her successful college career, as well as signed a three-year deal with the 3-on-3 league Unrivaled.

Bueckers is no stranger to international competition, having won three gold medals with the United States at the youth international level, including at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where she was named Most Valuable Player. She was a Youth Olympic gold medalist in 3x3 basketball and has played for the senior national 3x3 team. Bueckers was also recognized as USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 2019, reflecting her strong contributions to the sport both on a national and international level. In 2025, it was announced that Bueckers would star in and executive produce the Apple Original Films sports drama "Jess & Pearl" following her record-breaking rookie year in the WNBA.