Napheesa Collier Says High School Paige Bueckers Was ‘Best Player’ on USAB Team

Bueckers has been a cut above the rest of this year’s rookie class and is poised to take home the Rookie of the Year award.

Despite all the struggles of the Dallas Wings this season, Bueckers has played like a superstar, posting 18.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. She also tied Cynthia Cooper for the fastest player to hit 400+ points and 100+ assists, accomplishing the feat in just 22 games.

Appearing on Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s A Touch More podcast, Collier was asked if she got to play with anyone at the All-Star Game who she hadn’t played with before. She initially named Bueckers before realizing the two had played together for USA Basketball when Bueckers was still only in high school.

“Actually I did play with Paige when she was in high school for USAB,” Collier remembered. “We had a high schooler, a college player, and two WNBA players, and she was the best player on the team!”

“It was awesome playing with her,” Collier continued. “She’s someone that I’ve always wanted to play with. Really admired her game for a long time, I’ve known her family for several years too just through UConn, so that was really fun.”

Both stars at UConn, Collier and Bueckers have taken similar paths on their respective roads to stardom. Collier won Rookie of the Year back in 2019, and Bueckers seems almost certain to follow in her footsteps this year.