The era of Paige Bueckers has arrived.
The former UCONN superstar joined the WNBA on Monday night when he was selected as No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings in the league draft at Hudson Yards in Manhattan.
Monday’s draft officially concluded speculation that had been swirling over the past few months about what Booker would do in this year’s draft.
Dallas reportedly wasn’t the preferred place for Bueckers, whispering that former UConn Phenom could pull Eli Manning and force a path to another franchise by making an unprecedented move.
But at the end of the day, Booker hopes to help play basketball and help her turn her eye to the world’s most competitive women’s professional basketball league.
And Monday night was all about Bookers who started their day at the Empire State Building and finished wearing a bed-to-suit and a wings cap.
It has been nearly 20 years since the wing, when it was known as the Detroit Shock in 6 years, was relocated twice, and then rebranded once.
The Wings’ first No. 1 pick in franchise history, the Beakers could be the catalyst to help change that.
A talented, efficient scorer and versatile defender, Bueckers, 23, has established himself as one of UConn’s greatest all-time greats in his five years with the Husky.
In 2021, Bueckers became the first freshman to win Naismith Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in college basketball. The injury delayed some of her greatness. However, Booker took the Husky to the four Final Fours when she was healthy.
Last season, she averaged 19.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds to lead UConn to an elusive national championship.
Bueckers is expected to partner with Arike Ogunbowale of Dallas Backcourt. These two paired with the recently acquired Wing Stopper Dijonai Carrington, allowing Wing to quickly return to the playoffs after a year’s absence.
The Wings are out of one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Dallas was 9-31, but we were lucky in the draft lottery in November.
But it was a busy offseason, but for the Wings, Kurt Miller hired general manager.
Miller has been a respected coach in the league for a while.
His employment signaled the rest of the WNBA that Dallas was serious about changing its reputation and wanted to become a more desirable franchise for free agents.
Wings is currently based in Arlington, where he practices and performs at College Park Center, the home arena at the University of Texas Arlington.
However, the city of Dallas is funding Wings’ new $54 million practice facility, which is scheduled to open when the team moves to Dallas in 2026.
This offseason, Wings’ second-place finisher Satou Sabally in the 2020 draft, was looking for Dallas. As part of the four-team deal that sent Sabally to Phoenix Mercury, Wings welcomed Carrington, Tyasha Harris and Nalyssa Smith along with several other assets.
And with Bueker folded, the future looks much brighter for Dallas.
