A long-awaited childhood dream finally came to fruition for former UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers on Monday when the Dallas Wings officially took her with the No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft in New York City.
Shortly after her historic moment, Gatorade, one of the several companies that Bueckers has an NIL partnership with, released a congratulatory advertisement.
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The ad started with a close-up shot of Bueckers’ No. 5 UConn jersey packed in a moving truck before the door of the drunk being pulled down with a “Howdy From Dallas” sticker on it — a cinematic, metaphorical way of showing one door closing and another door opening for Bueckers.
REQUIRED READING: Dallas Wings select UConn star Paige Bueckers with No. 1 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft
“There’s a new star in town,” the ad also stated at the end of it.
Bueckers, who hails from Hopkins, Minnesota, became the sixth UConn player to be drafted with the top overall pick in the WNBA draft on Monday, and the first since the Seattle Storm took Breanna Stewart in 2016. Other Huskies players, all who played under Geno Auriemma, that went No. 1 overall include Sue Bird (2002, Seattle Storm), Diana Taurasi (2004, Phoenix Mercury), Tina Charles (2010, Connecticut Sun) and Maya Moore (2011, Minnesota Lynx).
Watch: Gatorade posts ad after Dallas Wings draft Paige Bueckers
Here’s a look at the ad Gatorade pushed out to congratulate Bueckers on being selected No. 1 overall by the Wings:
As previously noted by USA TODAY, by going No. 1 overall to the Wings, the 2021 Naismith National Player of the Year will be given a four-year, $348,198 WNBA contract. Bueckers, who led UConn to the national championship this past season, will earn a base salary of $79,000 for her rookie season as well.
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“Yeah, I’m just extremely excited to be there. I’ve only heard great things about the city. So excited to start that new chapter, be in a new city and explore that and give everything I have to the Wings organization,” Bueckers said Monday at the WNBA draft when asked what her message would be to Wings fans. “I know we’re going to do great things and it’s a fresh start. I think we’re all ready to do something special.
She added: “Extremely grateful that they took the pick on me. I can see the city has great love for that pick and we’re just super excited for the future.”
Bueckers is set to officially get her WNBA career started on Friday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Minnesota Lynx. She will take on Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever for the first time on Friday, June 27 at College Park Arena in Arlington, Texas.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gatorade posts Paige Bueckers ad after Dallas Wings draft her No. 1 overall
