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Dallas Wings general manager Curt Miller said former UConn star Paige Bueckers was the team's only option at No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
"Very early on, it was Paige and Paige only," Miller said via ESPN. "She's such a special player."
Bueckers, 23, who recently concluded her historic college career by leading UConn to its 12th national championship and winning the Wade Trophy, given to the best upperclass NCAA Division I women's basketball player, also discussed her interactions with the Wings prior to being selected No. 1 overall.
"The conversations [with the Wings] were brief, but just for them to know that I am coming in and wanting to give everything I have to that organization," Bueckers said via ESPN. "Dallas is a sports city, so I'm super excited for the support, the new wave of being there, being in a new city, being with a new team and conquering those challenges as a group. We've got great pieces, a great ownership, great GMs, great coaches. The entire organization from up to down, I'm extremely excited for it."
Bueckers, a three-time All-American, is the sixth player to be selected at No. 1 overall after winning a national championship in the same year, the last being fellow former UConn star Breanna Stewart in 2016. The Minnesota native is also the sixth former UConn player to be selected No. 1 overall joining Stewart, Maya Moore (2011), Tina Charles (2010), Diana Taurasi (2004) and Sue Bird (2002), all of whom played for current head coach Geno Auriemma.
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