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WNBA fans will get their first glimpse of Paige Bueckers with the Dallas Wings on Friday when they meet the Las Vegas Aces in a preseason game at Purcell Pavilion on the campus of Notre Dame.
The spotlight will be on the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft during the nationally-televised game, which is the curtain-raiser for the WNBA preseason.
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Fans will get to see how the former UConn standout, who averaged 19.8 points per game on 53.1 percent shooting during her college career, fits in among a dynamic Wings backcourt that already includes three-time All-WNBA selection Arike Ogunbowale and 2024 Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington.
Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft.Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Bueckers ramped up the anticipation on Wednesday by posting pictures of herself in a Dallas jersey for the first time to her 2.4 million Instagram followers.
The nine-photo slideshow was accompanied by the caption “Howdy,” signaling her promising arrival in the Lone Star State to the Dallas franchise that went 9-31 last season.
The post drew countless responses, including her new Wings teammate Ogunbowale and former Huskies running mate, Seattle Storm guard Nika Muhl. The league itself got involved in the comments section, too.
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“Yeehawwwwwww,” the official WNBA account wrote under Bueckers’ post, which featured numerous cowboy hats.
The one-word message received more than 600 likes within an hour, proving the fans and the league are both eagerly anticipating Bueckers’ preseason debut.
The Wings vs. Aces game, which is a Notre Dame homecoming for Ogunbowale, will be televised on ION at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. It will become just the second WNBA preseason game ever to air on national television, following a 2019 exhibition between the New York Liberty and the China national team.
Things are shifting this year as the WNBA seeks to fold Bueckers into the wave of interest sparked by the 2024 rookie class that included Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese. For the first time, every preseason game will be available on national television or online streaming, including the Fever’s tilt against the Brazil national team on ESPN on Sunday.
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Related: Caitlin Clark Issues Demand to Dallas Wings Before Paige Bueckers’ WNBA Arrival
Related: Caitlin Clark’s Unfiltered Moment In Front Of New Fever Teammates
