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UConn guard Paige Bueckers says she didn’t watch the 2025 WNBA draft lottery on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
The Dallas Wings won the rights to the No. 1 pick in the draft, which is set to take place on April 14.
When asked about how she was dealing with the distractions surrounding the upcoming draft, Bueckers answered, “I think I’ve mostly dealt with it by focusing on having a great practice today.”
Alexa Philippou @alexaphilippou
(She had a cheeky smile saying this)
Bueckers has opened the 2024-25 season by averaging 21.3 points through three games for the Huskies.
She has one year of eligibility remaining at UConn after this season. Bueckers could enter the draft as the potential No. 1 pick, or return for a fifth college season.
ESPN’s Michael Voepel reported following the draft that the Wings winning the top pick could potentially impact Bueckers’ desire to go pro in 2025.
“Sources around the league have indicated that the Los Angeles Sparks, who got the No. 2 pick in the lottery, would have been Bueckers’ preferred option,” Voepel wrote.
The Sparks, who hold the No. 2 pick in the upcoming draft, were favored to win the No. 1 pick after finishing the 2024 campaign with an 8-32 record.
Both the Sparks, who fired head coach Curt Miller after two seasons and a 25-55 overall record, and the Wings, who parted ways with Latricia Trammell after Dallas missed the playoffs in 2024, are in periods of transition. Miller has now joined the Wings as general manager, but neither team currently has a head coach.
The Wings have more questions to answer after starting forward Natasha Howard, who played a key role during Dallas’ run to the 2023 semifinals, indicated in a social media post that she planned to leave for another team this offseason. Satou Sabally, who was also a core part of the semifinal team, is also hitting free agency after playing out her last one-year contract.
Drafting Bueckers would jump-start the Wings’ ability to rebuild without Howard, but it sounds like fans won’t get an answer as to her draft decision until closer to the end of the 2024-25 college season. UConn, which entered the AP preseason poll at No. 2, is looking to end the campaign as national champions for the first time since winning four consecutive titles between 2013 and 2016.
