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While Paige Bueckers’ basketball legacy will always trace back to her incredible four seasons with the UConn Huskies, the WNBA’s newest star has apparently saved some small part of her fandom for the Gonzaga Bulldogs as well.
Bueckers’ burgeoning support for the Zags — likely encouraged by her friend and former Gonzaga star Jalen Suggs — was highlighted in a recent Instagram post that showed her sporting a red shirt with the Bulldogs on it during her prep for the 2025 WNBA Draft in New York Thursday. Bueckers was selected by the Dallas Wings with the No. 1 overall pick.
Bueckers guided UConn to its first national championship since 2016, which was also the last time the Huskies had a player go No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft (Breanna Stewart). A three-level scorer, willing passer and high-IQ player, she can impact winning in a multitude of ways.
Basketball fans in Spokane for the regional semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament between the Huskies and Oklahoma Sooners became very familiar with Bueckers game, as she dropped 40 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including a barrage of 3-pointers and jump shots down the stretch of a dominate 82-59 victory, propelling UConn to the Elite Eight. Bueckers followed that up with 31 points in a win over USC at the Spokane Arena.
Bueckers battled through a tibial plateau fracture, a lateral meniscus tear and a torn ACL throughout her four years in Storrs, Connecticut, though she native remained resilient through all her injuries. In addition to earning the AP Player of the Year prior to her ACL injury, Bueckers came back to earn back-to-back All-America honors in 2023 and 2024, guiding the Huskies to a pair of Final Four appearances and, of course, the program’s 12th national championship trophy this spring.
A native of Hopkins, Minnesota, Bueckers’ friendship with Suggs dates back to their days growing up in the Twin Cities. Suggs, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, starred at Minnehaha Academy and Bueckers at Hopkins High. Suggs was the Minnesota Gatorade player of the year in both football and basketball as a senior, while Bueckers won three straight Minnesota Gatorade player of the year awards and was named the national player of the year her senior year.
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