Paige Bueckers’ New Look Earns Nickname From Angel Reese

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 6:23 PM ET

Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings struggled to get much going throughout the 2025 WNBA season, securing a league-worst 10-34 record and missing the playoffs for a second straight season. Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky had a similar fate, finishing at 10-34 as well and missing out on the postseason once again.

After leading UConn to a national championship, Bueckers was selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 draft and quickly made an impact. As a rookie, she averaged team highs of 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks, along with 3.9 rebounds per game. Her performance earned her Rookie of the Year honors, falling just short of a unanimous vote as Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron received two of the 72 ballots.

During the offseason, Bueckers committed to playing in the second season of Unrivaled, which begins in January 2026. But during the WNBA playoffs, she stepped away from basketball to take a vacation. On Wednesday, Bueckers posted vacation photos on Instagram, where WNBA players noticed the Wings star’s new tan.

"Tropical tonesss️," Bueckers captioned her post.

This prompted Reese to give Bueckers a new nickname in the comment section.

"tan mamiiiii," Reese wrote.

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A post shared by Paige (@paigebueckers)

Similar to Bueckers in season two, Reese participated in the inaugural season of Unrivaled at the beginning of 2025. In 14 games played, the former LSU star averaged 13.3 points and a league-high 12.1 rebounds per game. She even made her second WNBA All-Star appearance this year, where she played alongside Bueckers for the first time.

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

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