Star-in-waiting Paige Bueckers taken by Dallas with No 1 decide in WNBA draft | Dallas Wings

Paige Bueckers turned the most recent UConn standout to go first total within the WNBA draft on Monday evening because the Dallas Wings chosen the 23-year-old guard earlier than a number of hundred spectators on the Shed in New York Metropolis.

Her choice capped a dominant last season at Connecticut and marked the beginning of an eagerly anticipated skilled profession. Bueckers helmed the Huskies to a drought-busting twelfth nationwide championship eight days in the past and turns into the sixth UConn participant to be drafted No 1, becoming a member of Sue Hen, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart.

“You don’t ever wish to assume something in life,” Bueckers mentioned after taking the stage. “It’s a contemporary begin and we’re all able to do one thing particular.”

Bueckers’ journey to Monday evening was outlined by each early accolades and prolonged adversity. She gained the Naismith Trophy because the nation’s high faculty participant as a freshman however missed important time in her sophomore yr resulting from a knee damage earlier than sitting out your entire 2022–23 season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament. The accidents delayed however didn’t derail her rise. She returned for the 2024–25 season to common 22.3 factors per sport and lead UConn to an unbreaten postseason run.

“Simply an amazing sense of gratitude, it’s super-surreal simply being right here,” she mentioned Monday. “All their onerous work helped me get to this stage. I didn’t do it alone – it took a village.”

Bueckers’ model presence has grown alongside her basketball profession. She turned the primary faculty basketball participant to have a Nike sneaker named after her and holds a multi-year endorsement take care of Gatorade.

She described her path to the draft as “a narrative of resilience, of gratitude, of adversity, of overcoming adversity”, and referred to as the second the success of a dream first imagined at age 5.

The Wings, who completed 9–31 final season, will look to construct round Bueckers as a two-way playmaker identified for her effectivity and court docket consciousness.

Seattle chosen French teenager Dominique Malonga with the No 2 decide. The 6ft 6in heart helped France win silver on the Paris Olympics and was one of many youngest gamers within the draft.

“It’s superb to me,” Malonga mentioned. “I’m so joyful to symbolize France. Not solely France, however Cameroon and Congo. I’m a multicultural particular person. I’ll work very onerous to slot in this league, as a result of I do know it’s gonna be robust.”

The Washington Mystics had three of the subsequent 4 picks and selected Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron, Southern California ahead Kiki Iriafen and Kentucky level guard Georgia Amoore.

Citron, who stands 6ft 1in, averaged 14.1 factors, 5.4 rebounds and a couple of.7 assists this season. The No 3 total decide is also a standout defender.

“I’m going to work onerous and maintain attempting to get higher,” Citron mentioned. “I’ve superb ladies to be taught from on this league. I’m going to proceed to play each side of the ball and be myself.”

The 6ft 3in Iriafen went fourth total. She was a third-team All-American this season whereas averaging 18.0 factors and eight.4 rebounds.

“I’ve simply been resilient,” an emotional Iriafen mentioned. “There was lots [of ups and downs] in my final season and I simply trusted the method.”

Washington used the No 6 decide on Kentucky level guard Georgia Amoore, who set a Kentucky single-season report of 213 assists. She started her profession with 4 seasons at Virginia Tech.

The Australian-born Amoore is used to listening to how brief she is at 5ft 6in.

“So long as individuals have referred to as me too brief, I’ve been engaged on find out how to counterattack that,” Amoore mentioned. “It’s not a shock to me. I do know I’ve to work in several methods and use my mind a little bit bit extra.”

In between the picks of Iriafen and Amoore, the growth Golden State Valkyries made their first decide, selecting Lithuanian guard Juste Jocyte.

Jocyte, 19, was born in Washington DC however raised in Lithuania. The 6ft 1in guard averaged 11.9 factors this previous season for Asvel Feminin in France.

The Connecticut Solar held back-to-back picks at Nos 7 and eight, choosing LSU ahead Aneesah Morrow and NC State guard Saniya Rivers. Morrow, a three-time All-American who performed at DePaul earlier than transferring to LSU, ranks third in NCAA Division I historical past in profession rebounds and second in double-doubles. Rivers, a standout defender, recorded 50-plus steals in every of the previous three seasons.

At No 9, the Los Angeles Sparks selected Alabama ahead Sarah Ashlee Barker, a two-time All-SEC choice identified for her scoring and rebounding versatility.

The Chicago Sky made consecutive picks at tenth and eleventh, choosing Slovenian ahead Ajsa Sivka and TCU guard Hailey Van Lith. Sivka brings worldwide expertise and perimeter dimension, whereas Van Lith, the 2024 Huge 12 Participant of the Yr, averaged 17.9 factors and 5.4 assists this season. She beforehand performed at Louisville and LSU.

Dallas closed the primary spherical at No 12 by choosing NC State guard Aziaha James, a dynamic scorer and All-ACC performer who averaged over 16 factors per sport.

Las Vegas, the defending champions, didn’t have a first-round choice after the league stripped the workforce of its decide resulting from violations associated to impermissible participant advantages and office misconduct involving Dearica Hamby, who now performs for Los Angeles.

The 2025 draft unfolded amid continued momentum for the WNBA, following a surge in attendance, viewership and endorsement offers tied to varsity stars getting into the league. Bueckers’ arrival alerts one other important chapter in that progress.

Bueckers had been earmarked as a future star lengthy earlier than she stepped onto a school court docket. As early as center faculty, she drew nationwide consideration by way of viral spotlight reels showcasing her preternatural court docket imaginative and prescient, artistic passing and deep taking pictures vary in AAU tournaments. Recruiting websites like ESPN HoopGurlz and Blue Star Media started rating her among the many high prospects within the nation by the point she was in eighth grade, whereas comparisons to WNBA greats reminiscent of Hen and Taurasi shortly adopted.

By the point she entered Hopkins Excessive Faculty in Minnesota, she was already thought of the highest participant within the class of 2020 – a standing she maintained all through her prep profession earlier than committing to UConn.