Paige Bueckers Makes 'Difficult' Admission About Chronic Knee Pain

Dallas Wings star rookie Paige Bueckers didn't play in her team's June 28 game against the Washington Mystics because of what was called a knee issue when it was announced.

This raised concerns among fans, given that Bueckers has a history of serious knee injuries. However, Wings coach Chris Koclanes helped ease concerns when speaking with the media ahead of that game by saying, "Just precautionary, some soreness. So just doing our due diligence and managing what's best for her long term health," when asked about Bueckers sitting out.

Bueckers spoke with the media after a team practice on July 2 and shared a strong message about the nature of what she's dealing with in her knee.

"It's difficult. But at the same time, I want to play 40 minutes, I want to play every single game. But also being smart and understanding that there's a long season," Bueckers said about managing her health, per a video from Grant Afseth's YouTube account.

“Not so much a load management. Just being smart. I've been dealing with patellar tendonitis since I was in high school," Bueckers later added. "And it is, in a sense of you're managing it, at all times."

"There's no day where it probably doesn't hurt. But to be on the second night of a back-to-back, where I just played 38 minutes, it usually never feels great the way after the game. But we usually either have an off-day or a light practice day to where I can recover," Bueckers continued. "We thought it was the smart thing to do to rest and recover [on Saturday]."