Paige Bueckers

Paige Madison Bueckers is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Breeze of Unrivaled. She previously played college basketball for the UConn Huskies, where she won a national championship, earned three unanimous first-team All-American selections, and set the highest career scoring average in program history at 19.9 points per game.

Bueckers was born on October 20, 2001, in Edina, Minnesota, and raised in nearby St. Louis Park. She began playing basketball at age five and also competed in Little League Baseball, football, and soccer before concentrating on basketball. Her father, Bob Bueckers, served as her basketball coach through seventh grade. Growing up, she was friends with future National Basketball Association player Jalen Suggs and drew inspiration from professional players LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird.

Attending Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Bueckers joined the varsity team in eighth grade. During her high school tenure, she set school records with 2,877 points, 795 assists, and 574 steals, leading her team to an undefeated season and a Class 4A state championship in 2019. Her high school accolades included three Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year selections, Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, and Minnesota Miss Basketball. ESPN ranked her as the number one recruit in her class, and she committed to the University of Connecticut.

In her 2020–21 freshman season at UConn, Bueckers became the first freshman to win a national women's player of the year award, earning the AP Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA National Player of the Year, and John R. Wooden Award. She also won the Nancy Lieberman Award and helped UConn reach the Final Four. Despite missing significant time in her sophomore and junior seasons due to knee injuries and surgery, she helped lead UConn to the 2022 national championship game.

Bueckers guided the Huskies back to the Final Four as a redshirt junior and went on to win her first NCAA national championship as a senior in 2025. In her final college season, she was awarded the Wade Trophy. Throughout her college career, she was named a unanimous first-team All-American three times and set the school record for freshman assists with 168.

Bueckers was selected first overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA draft. In her debut WNBA season, she was named WNBA Rookie of the Year and earned All-WNBA Second Team honors. She made her Unrivaled debut with Breeze in 2026, earning a spot on the All-Unrivaled First Team. On the international stage, Bueckers won three youth gold medals with the United States national team, including MVP honors at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, a Youth Olympic gold medal in 3x3 basketball, and was named the 2019 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.