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Dallas Wings Send Paige Bueckers Message During NBA Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 11:21 PM ET

This year's No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers made an appearance at the Dallas Mavericks’ official draft watch party held at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday.

Bueckers, on her off day for the Dallas Wings, was spotted mingling with fans as the Mavericks organization selected Duke sensation Cooper Flagg with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Flagg arrives in Dallas fresh off a standout rookie campaign at Duke, where he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game en route to leading Duke to the Final Four and earning the Wooden Award as national player of the year.

Shortly afterwards, the Wings acknowledged her presence with a playful message on X: "Takes No. 1 to know No. 1 Thank you @dallasmavs for having our Paigey ."

Takes No. 1 to know No. 1

Thank you @dallasmavs for having our Paigey pic.twitter.com/slwYoGyfou
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) June 26, 2025

While the Mavericks’ selection grabbed national attention, Bueckers has been forging her own path with the Wings.

During her collegiate career at UConn, she became the first freshman woman to win both the Naismith Player of the Year and Wooden Awards.

Bueckers amassed 2,439 career points by the end of her tenure at UConn, the third-highest scoring total in program history.

Transitioning to the WNBA has not dulled her impact.

In her rookie season with the Wings, Bueckers is averaging 17.7 points, 5.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, despite missing four contests earlier this month due to a concussion and illness.

While Dallas remains in a rebuilding phase (4-12 overall record), she leads her team in points, assists and steals while logging heavy minutes (35.5 per game).

As the WNBA season continues and Flagg prepares to make his NBA debut, Dallas has plenty of reasons to be excited.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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