That’s undoubtedly what the Dallas Wings are counting on now that Paige “Buckets” Bueckers, a star senior for the University of Connecticut who dropped 40 points in a game over the weekend to advance her team to the elite eight of the women’s NCAA tournament, has declared for the 2025 WNBA draft. Bueckers is the front-runner for the draft’s first pick, and the Wings will have the night’s first selection.
“If I’m Dallas, if Paige declares for the draft, I draft her,” Rebecca Lobo, an ESPN analyst who played for UConn, told the Dallas Morning News.
Bueckers in navy and lime would be a welcome sight for the franchise that went 9-31 last season, but there has been speculation regarding the player’s interest in our local franchise. Rumors have swirled that Bueckers would play a fifth year of collegiate basketball or dabble in an alternative league for a year just to avoid being drafted by Dallas. Basketball insiders believe the Bueckers camp had hoped for a bigger, more championship-oriented market for the star.
Bueckers has never addressed these rumors publicly, but she told reporters over the weekend that she was under the impression that her intention to declare for the WNBA draft had been made clear “a long time ago.” Any further questioning was shrugged off by the six-foot-tall guard, who said she is staying focused on her current team through the end of her senior season.
No. 2 UConn is set to face No. 1 USC on Monday in the Elite Eight round of the women’s NCAA tournament. The Huskies will play after a matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 TCU. Two No. 1 seed teams have already clinched spots in the tournament’s final four. While a No. 2 seed UConn would typically never be seen as an underdog team, the women’s tournament could mirror the men’s with four No. 1 seed teams in the Final Four.
If that’s the case, tonight will likely be your last chance to see Bueckers in collegiate action ahead of the April 14 draft.
Potentially Landing North Texas’ Caitlin Clark
Landing Bueckers would be a coup for the Dallas Wings, not only because of her skill but also because of her name. Before Caitlin Clark broke through the glass ceiling of women’s sports fame, Bueckers was a national favorite. Injuries in her sophomore and junior years slowed Bueckers’ ascent at the same time Clark’s took off. Still, the two women are comparable in skill and desirability for a franchise searching for a cornerstone name.
“Off the court, I think you’re getting someone who the city of Dallas and North Texas and really all of the women’s basketball fans in the state can fall in love with,” the Morning News’ Shawn McFarland told the Texas Standard. “And I think the Wings need that to really improve their footing and their cultural ingrainment in DFW.”
Last week, the Wings announced that next season’s matchup against the Indiana Fever, where Clark was drafted as the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, will be held at the American Airlines Center on June 27. The arena can hold as many as 20,000 fans, far from the 6,000 seats offered at the Wings’ current home court.
The game will be a chance for Dallas’ No. 1 pick to face off against Clark and Aliyah Boston, the first draft pick from the 2023 draft. It will also be the franchise’s first toe-dip in Dallas ahead of the team’s 2026 move to downtown.
“Having the best women’s basketball players on the planet playing in a world-class venue such as American Airlines Center is truly fitting. Hosting this game at AAC provides our athletes with the well-deserved opportunity to be showcased in front of a record home crowd,” Dallas Wings CEO and Managing Partner Greg Bibb said in a statement. “Playing our first game in our future home city of Dallas offers our fans not only a new and unique opportunity to experience the WNBA but also enjoy a preview of what is to come.”
