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Paige Bueckers Makes Strong Commitment to Dallas Amid 'False Narrative' Around Wings

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jeremy Beren | Last updated May 10, 2025 4:48 PM ET

When the Dallas Wings won the right to select first overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft, some around the league questioned whether this was a place where Paige Bueckers wanted to play.

Bueckers, the star point guard at the University of Connecticut, had been linked to the Los Angeles Sparks, a team in a larger and more glamorous market relative to Dallas. Some wondered whether Bueckers would return to UConn for her final season of NCAA eligibility in 2025-26, especially if the Huskies did not win the national championship.

But on March 28, Bueckers confirmed that she would enter the draft. UConn won the national title nine days later, and the Wings made her the top pick in the draft on April 15.

The @DallasWings are practicing on their home floor ahead of tomorrow night’s preseason game and Paige Bueckers’ College Park debut.

Great energy in the gym with lots of talk. pic.twitter.com/EeWlb1HgLx
— Melissa Triebwasser (@TheCoachMelissa) May 9, 2025

Amid the looming start of the WNBA regular season, Bueckers has made it clear that she never had any opposition to joining the Wings -- especially as the franchise is planning major structural upgrades in the near future.

"They have all the resources that you need to be successful, especially recovery, [which] is important going from season to season. And then just having resources off the court as well, like pilates and a sports psych,” Bueckers said at a press conference on Thursday.

The Wings are set to leave the 7,000-seat College Park Center next season in favor of Memorial Auditorium in the city's downtown. The refurbished arena will include a new $54 million practice facility, the latest in a wave of new facilities that have popped up around the WNBA in response to the league's booing popularity.

The best house party in the country

⏰ Tonight at 7pm CT
vs @Antelopes_1
KFAA pic.twitter.com/OKKpyL2SU0
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) May 10, 2025

“Coach Chris [Koclanes] talked about how finding success is important, but you want to find great people first. I think they’ve done a great job from top to bottom, finding great people who are easy to work with, easy to work for,” Bueckers said.

Bueckers' revelations lend credence to Wings CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb's theory that there is a "false narrative" around the organization as a place that is behind the times and cannot attract talent. Coming off a 9-31 season in 2024, Bueckers will be tasked with burying those narratives in the past and forging a new era of Wings basketball.

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

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