Paige Bueckers

About Paige Bueckers

Paige Madison Bueckers (/ˈbɛkərz/ BEH-kərz; born October 20, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously played college basketball for the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the Big East Conference.

Nicknamed "Paige Buckets", 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 season at UConn, Bueckers became the first freshman to be named national women's player of the year and helped her team reach the Final Four. She missed most of her sophomore season and her entire junior season with knee injuries but led UConn to the 2022 national title game. Bueckers helped the Huskies return to the Final Four as a redshirt junior, before winning her first national championship and receiving the Wade Trophy as a senior. She was a three-time unanimous first-team All-American in college and has the highest scoring average in UConn history (19.9).

Bueckers has 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 recognized as USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 2019.