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Paige Bueckers’ first Unrivaled season didn’t end in a league title clincher, but it did give the Dallas Wings guard a sense of pride and belonging that the winter-based league is a great fit for many years to come, should she decide to return.
Bueckers met the media right before Breeze BC was eliminated from the postseason and passionately spoke about how the Unrivaled league has made her a better player as she enters his second season with the Dallas Wings, should a CBA agreement happen.
“It’s a testament [making All-Unrivaled] to the people around me,” Bueckers said, per The Ballers Magazine. “And here [Unrivaled], especially the resources and the amount of treatment and the amount of people who are invested in our well-being, it’s huge.
Bueckers has been publicly outspoken about how much Unrivaled puts players and teams above all else, which she says is a major reason more WNBA players should take advantage of getting better day-by-day in a professional environment.
“Another thing that goes underrated, like you see is performing on the court, but it’s everything that we do before that, whether it be in the training room, the weight room, the recovery, the tools, they just have everything here,” Bueckers said.
Paige Bueckers Speaks Out About Unrivaled vs. WNBA
Unrivaled has continued to reach massive strides. Whether it’s selling out NBA arenas or making the games easily accessible on truTV, TBS, or TNT, the league continues to cater to a generation of new fans (young or old) and major celebrities like former Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt.
The league is beginning to find its footing, according to CEO Alex Bazzell.
“We’re building Unrivaled for the long game, and we’re confident in our outlook, keeping in mind the same core principles and goals we set forth when establishing the league,” Bazzell told Front Office Sports. “We’re proud of the product we’re putting on the court each week and are going to continue growing our audience while showcasing the best women’s basketball players in the world. Leagues aren’t built overnight.”
The “long game” appears to be working, allowing stars like Bueckers to remain positive regarding the league’s upward trajectory.
Bueckers revealed further what makes Unrivaled different from the WNBA overall.
“I think it makes you work a lot defensively and offensively in isolation and being able to operate in space,” Bueckers told reporters. “It’s hard to guard in three-on-three because you’re not really getting a whole ton of help side, not a whole lot of gapping, and people being in there to help you. So you’re really forced to guard in isolation and then score. Being able to create and then. Yeah, I would say that.”
