The name Paige Bueckers and qualifier “projected No. 1 pick” have been synonymous since she committed to Connecticut in 2019 as the top high school recruit in America. Though the full journey took unexpected turns, including an extra season in college, it has led to the same junction.
The Dallas Wings are expected to select Bueckers as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York. It will cap a whirlwind week for the national champion after lifting her elusive NCAA trophy on Sunday in Tampa and making both morning and nighttime TV rounds to celebrate it.
Bueckers was no stranger to pressure and expectations at 12-time national champion UConn, where the game’s legends collect titles like candy on Halloween. It will be much the same in the WNBA at a time when interest is peaking, and college fans are carrying over to their favorite collegiate player’s pro team in unprecedented numbers.
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“We’ve always believed that we’ve had an incredible product,” Wings general manager and vice president of basketball operations Curt Miller said on a pre-draft video call Thursday. “It was just, how do we continue to get more and more eyes on our game, and more and more people through the turnstiles to get into those games? It’s so popular right now, so it’s at a really good place. I’m excited about this draft class keeping the momentum going.”
Bueckers, 23, is one of the biggest draws, an eye-catcher since her high school days in Minnesota. Her name, image and likeness valuations are among the top for women’s basketball players since it began in 2021. The first freshman to win the Naismith Award in 2021 as college basketball’s best player, she has deals with major powers Nike, Gatorade, Bose, Verizon and Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s a reach those previous national champions at UConn never had, and a foundation the WNBA never benefited from when they reached the pros.
(Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports illustration)
Ally Financial joined those ranks this week, signing an endorsement deal with the star nicknamed “Paige Buckets.” Despite not yet in the league, Bueckers already featured in the company’s league-based “new era loading” commercial with Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, a four-time UConn champion, and Fever guard Sydney Colson.
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The financial service announced Friday, with plenty of “bucket” references, it is the official banking partner of the WNBA and the presenting partner of “Rivals Week,” an inaugural showcase of key matchups the week of Aug. 9. The slate includes a meeting between the Wings and Fever, who are led by 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark and ’23 No. 1 selection Aliyah Boston.
Turning Dallas into not only a title contender, but an arena-packing destination filled with fans in Bueckers’ No. 5 jersey — the way Clark and Boston have done in Indianapolis — will be her primary task. Since moving from Tulsa to Texas ahead of the 2016 season, the franchise has largely been an afterthought, barely reaching the playoffs in a league that allows 75% of its teams to qualify for the postseason. The Wings have sold out season tickets, but in one of the league’s smaller venues, and their fans haven’t traveled as well as those from other franchises.
In nine seasons, they employed five coaches. All-Star center Liz Cambage asked out in 2019, and All-Star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, their core designated star, followed a season later. The front office collected three of the first five first-round draft picks in 2021, and yet none of them is on the team four years later. The Wings drafted three times in the first round in 2023 and twice in 2024 to build around two-time All-Star MVP Arike Ogunbowale.
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Yet, it didn’t help them build on back-to-back .500 seasons, including a trip to the semifinals in 2023. The 22-18 record and sweep by the Aces was the franchise’s best season since their final one in Tulsa (18-16, swept by the Mercury in the conference semis). After missing the postseason in 2024 for the first time since 2020, the Wings parted ways with head coach Latricia Trammell (31-49), foundational star forward Satou Sabally and former defensive player of the year Natasha Howard.
Bueckers, should the Wings select her at No. 1, is heading to a franchise in its new era. It hired Miller, the longtime former Connecticut Sun head coach who led the Sparks for one year. President and CEO Greg Bibb held the general manager tag for nine years in a dual-title practice that’s being retired around the league.
A month later, the franchise brought in Chris Koclanes, a first-time head coach. Koclanes worked with Miller in Connecticut from 2016-22, leading one of the league’s best defenses and reaching the Finals in 2019 and ’22. The Sun were the winningest group in the league in that stretch despite never winning the franchise’s first championship.
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Most critical to an era of No. 1 picks who carry more weight and eyeballs than ever before, the Wings are investing in the product and player amenities. After record attendance at their 6,251-seat College Park Center in Arlington, the Wings are working on a move to a larger arena with an on-site practice facility in downtown Dallas. The Wings, Mystics and Dream average the lowest league attendance because of their venues, and all are moving games to larger nearby ones to reap the benefits of incoming draft classes and booming interest.
The Wings already moved the June 27 game against the Fever to the 20,000-capacity American Airlines Center. It will be the first WNBA meeting between Bueckers and Clark, two players with extreme expectations for both their franchises and the entire league. And two players who can deliver on them.
