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The WNBA Rookie of the Year is making the leap from the basketball court to the big screen.
WNBA star Paige Bueckers is making the leap from the basketball court to the big screen, attached to star in the Apple Original Films sports drama “Jess & Pearl,” according to Deadline.
The film, based on an original idea by “Scandal” writer Zahir McGhee, will follow two basketball phenoms “who forge an extraordinary bond as teammates until fame, competition and the ruthless business of college athletics threaten to turn their friendship into an epic rivalry,” Deadline wrote.Â
“The White Lotus” producer David Bernad will produce the movie with Bueckers executive producing.Â
Apple Original Films had no comment on the project, which does not yet have a release date.Â
The project comes on the heels of a historic rookie season for the Dallas Wings guard. Bueckers, who was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, averaged 19.2 points per game and 5.4 assists, earning Rookie of the Year honors and a spot as a starter in the annual All-Star Game.Â
She finished with the third-most total points for a rookie in WNBA history and also the third-most assists for a rookie, posting 35 double-digit scoring games in 36 appearances.
The 24-year-old’s professional success follows a decorated college career at UConn. One of college basketball’s most decorated players, Bueckers helped lead the UConn Huskies to the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. She became the first freshman to win National Player of the Year honors in 2021 and was a three-time unanimous All-American.
Bueckers isn’t the first young WNBA star to make the jump into acting. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese recently made her silver screen debut in Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite.” The Netflix film had its global premiere last month at the Venice Film Festival.Â
