UConn star Paige Bueckers is the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, which is currently held by the Dallas Wings.
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Golden State Valkyries fans may think there is no chance the expansion franchise will end up with Paige Bueckers, the projected No. 1 pick in the April’s WNBA draft. That’s because the Valkyries were awarded the fifth pick in the collegiate draft behind the league’s four lottery teams, with the Dallas Wings drawing the top pick.
But those around the WNBA don’t think it’s such a foregone conclusion. Bueckers is one of the few college players left with a COVID season due to the ACL tear that cost her all of her 2022-23 season at UConn. Some in the league are preparing for a world where Bueckers simply refuses to go to Dallas.
That possibility might give the Valkyries leverage to acquire a franchise player. Fans have already spun conspiracy theories after Bueckers was praising the team’s colors when the Valkyries announced their branding. ESPN also reported she would have been interested in going to Los Angeles, which has the No. 2 pick.
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If the Wings draft her and Bueckers does not want to go there, the Wings would only hold her rights until the following year’s draft, according to the current CBA, so she could just re-enter the draft in 2026.
