Women’s basketball today has reached heights not many fans could have imagined just a few years ago. Television ratings are up, arenas are selling out, and media attention is at an all-time high, transforming the WNBA into one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
Much of women’s basketball’s boom was due to Caitlin Clark and her iconic college performances at the University of Iowa, which attracted millions of new fans and helped elevate the game’s profile. For Paige Buckers, however, watching that historic rise came with conflicting emotions.
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The former UConn superstar was on the sidelines as the sport she helped build was finally gaining mainstream attention. After winning National Player of the Year as a freshman and being labeled as the face of the next generation, she suffered knee injuries before tearing her ACL just before the 2022-2023 season, which forced her to watch from afar as Clark emerged as the sport’s figurehead, something she admits she was proud but envious to see.
“I felt bad because I felt jealous in a way and I felt envious,” Bueckers said. “I’ve never been that type of person where I don’t want other people to succeed, like I want everyone around me to succeed more than I want myself to succeed.”
“I’ve always thought showing light on others doesn’t diminish your own,” she added. “But I was like, ‘Damn, what about me though?'”
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Missing the sport’s boom
It’s important to understand how Bueckers appeared destined to become college basketball’s superstar before her devastating injury. She was supposed to be the next player to follow in the historic lineage of UConn women’s basketball superstars after her historic freshman season, and many expected her to share the spotlight in a rivalry with Clark.
Instead, CC was the only one who drew worldwide acclaim after rewriting the NCAA record books with her supreme long-range shooting ability, while Bueckers was left feeling like the whole world had already forgotten her.
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“It was hard because I felt like I was hitting my stride. Like, I played pretty well my freshman year, and I just wanted to win. Then it just felt like women’s basketball just took the world by storm and rightfully so,” Bueckers stated.
“I had worked so hard, I just wanted to play, and I just wanted to be a part of it. I was like damn, I wish that could be me. And not that I wish that it could be, but I wish it could be me, too,” she added.
Buecker’s feelings had little to do with Clark or with her becoming the superstar she did, but they do reflect the frustration of watching the sport she was poised to dominate experience its biggest breakthrough while she was in rehab.
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When she returned in 2023, however, she wasted no time reminding everyone who she was and what she was capable of. Women’s basketball’s meteoric rise was still underway as she instantly returned as one of the nation’s best collegiate basketball players, averaging 21.9 points per game to lead the Huskies in the NCAA tournament, where the stars aligned for her to share the court with her rival in the Final Four.
In one of the most anticipated collegiate basketball games in recent history, Bueckers’ UConn and Clark’s Iowa met at the Final Four. Although the Hawkeyes escaped with the 71-69 win, Paige still shone and enjoyed the sport’s breakthrough herself as 14.2 million viewers tuned in, becoming the second-most-watched women’s NCAA basketball game of all time.
The hype never disappeared
Despite the loss and Clark transitioning into the WNBA, women’s basketball was still rising, and it allowed for th perfect opportunity for Bueckers, who stayed for her final year, to enjoy the spotlight on her own after dominating the nation once again and leading UConn back to the NCAA mountaintop with a National Championship.
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From there, Buecker’s hype never went away again. She became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, then won Rookie of the Year and continues to emerge as one of the best players in the league this season.
The player who once wondered if the game had passed her by is now one of the players everybody can’t stop talking about. Bueckers, alongside Clark, Reese and many others, have been and will continue to enjoy the spotlight as they lead the way for a new era of women’s basketball.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
