Paige Bueckers Didn’t Get Her ‘Preferred’ WNBA Team After Draft Lottery
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The WNBA draft lottery results are in, and the Dallas Wings will have the No. 1 pick come April. It’s great news for the Wings franchise, which no doubt has its sights set on Paige Bueckers, but the feeling might not be totally mutual.
Prior to the draft lottery, the UConn Huskies guard had a “preferred” landing spot in the WNBA, according to ESPN’s Michael Voepel.
“Sources around the league have indicated that the Los Angeles Sparks, who got the No. 2 pick in the lottery, would have been Bueckers’ preferred option,” Voepel wrote. “Like the Wings, the Sparks also currently don’t have a head coach. But Los Angeles is a gigantic market and a team that could also have used a guard like Bueckers.”
The Sparks, who selected Cameron Brink with the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft and boast a talented young core, would have made for a desirable destination for Bueckers, but it appears fate has other plans.
Wings players were elated to find out they won the No. 1 pick on Sunday, and for good reason. Bueckers has been plagued by injuries in her college career but is currently playing out her redshirt senior season at UConn, averaging 21.3 points through the first three games of the 2024-25 campaign. The 2021 Naismith Player of the Year technically still has one year of eligibility left.
If Bueckers does land in Dallas next spring, her impact may not be all that different from Caitlin Clark’s arrival in Indianapolis as last year’s consensus No. 1 pick.
Shocking Revelation Proves Paige Bueckers Could Be Upset With Dallas Wings’ WNBA Draft Lottery Win
Paige Bueckers. While the Huskies are busy trying to do their best, Bueckers has already earned herself the top projected spot in the W 2025 draft. And on Sunday, as the Los Angeles Sparks were keen to get the number one lottery pick, their hopes were shattered. The lottery pick announced the Dallas Wings as the top pick, and hence, there are chances that Bueckers might not get into the Sparks. And a big revelation shows that the Huskies star might not be interested in going with the Wings.
According to a tweet on X from an ESPN article, Bueckers is reportedly not happy with the Sparks not getting the top spot. Cameron Brink’s franchise will be taking the number two pick, while the Wings will take the number one. The article stated, “Sources around the league have indicated that the Los Angeles Sparks, who got the No. 2 pick in the lottery, would have been Bueckers’ preferred option. Like the Wings, the Sparks also currently don’t have a head coach. But Los Angeles is a gigantic market and a team that could also have used a guard like Bueckers.”
Plus, the 23-year-old has a year of eligibility left. While she has previously stated that this will be her last year for Geno Auriemma and her NCAA dream, the article casts questions over Bueckers’ decision, who might change her mind to avoid getting drafted with the Wings.
The Wings already have an unstable system which is evident from their rapid coaching changes. Since 2016, they have had 5 coaching changes with the sixth being of Latricia Trammell, who was fired after an abysmal 9-31 record this season. This adds to more reason that Bueckers might not be very keen on joining the franchise, which now has hired Curt Miller as the new general manager.
Notably, Miller was the fired coach from the LA Sparks this season, and Bueckers was projected as the top pick for the Sparks. Hence, she might not want to go with the Sparks’ old coach in a managerial position in a franchise. Meanwhile, the Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson was present during the WNBA’s draft lottery on Sunday.
Rickea Jackson’s hopes shattered
Jackson who was drafted as the fourth overall pick with the Sparks, and played her rookie season this year, was happy on being the good luck for the Sparks. She was sent as the representative to the lottery draft. Dressed in a black t-shirt with a sparkling coat and a matching pant, Jackson expressed that she wanted Bueckers to get drafted to her franchise.
“I am tonight’s good luck charm. Because I am a rookie and we deserve this. And we’ve been through a lot. So the basketball Gods better give this to us. My vibe for next year is just a fun, winning culture. Everything’s gonna be new: new coach, so I am just excited for it,” Jackson stated at the draft lottery on Sunday.
However, as the draft lottery proceeded to completion, the Wings got the number one pick whereas the Sparks got to number two. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics followed suit. Hopefully, Bueckers will get the desired team in the WNBA draft and perhaps that will stop her from dropping out.
