Paige Bueckers may start considering WNBA hoops in Texas after her career at UConn ends.
That future is almost a certainty after the ping-pong balls went in favor of the Dallas Wings in the 2024 WNBA Draft. With guard Maddy Siegrist, the third overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, present in as the franchise’s representative on Sunday, the Wings landed the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Bueckers, who has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, will likely be the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft if she forgoes one final season at UConn.
Luck was in Dallas’ favor, with the franchise entering Sunday’s lottery with the second-best odds (22.7%) to land the top pick. The Los Angeles Sparks, who had the best chance (44.2%) of landing the first pick, settled for the second overall pick.
The Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics will pick third and fourth, respectively.
The four teams that missed the 2024 WNBA playoffs were entered into the draft lottery, and the odds for the No. 1 overall pick were determined by each team’s cumulative record over the past two seasons. The Sparks held the highest odds (44.2%) after finishing 25-55 in the 2023-24 seasons. The Wings and Sky held the second-highest odds (22.7%) after both franchises went 31-49. Entering the lottery, the Wings possessed the right to trade first-round picks with the Sky, which would have been exercised if Chicago had ended up ranking higher than Dallas in the lottery.
The Mystics had the lowest odds (10.8%) for the top pick after finishing 33-47 over the past two seasons.
Picks five through 12 were determined by the reverse order of each team’s regular season record in 2024. The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s newest franchise, will have the fifth pick in the draft. The Las Vegas Aces currently do not have a first-round pick in next year’s draft after the league voided it due to the franchise’s violation of league rules.
Defending champion Liberty is expected to pick 12th, but has the right to trade with the seventh overall selection in the Phoenix Mercury. The swap pick was acquired in a four-team deal in 2023 that brought Leonie Fiebich to New York and sent 2021 Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere to Phoenix.
The 2024 draft saw the Indiana Fever select Caitlin Clark as the No. 1 overall selection after four hype-filled years at Iowa, including her senior season where she became the all-time leading draft pick. NCAA.
In 2025, it will likely be Bueckers who will be the new No. 1 sensation to add to the WNBA’s growing popularity.
Bueckers is off to a strong start to his senior season at UConn: 21.3 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 steals while shooting 65 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep in three games.
The Wings potentially landing the UConn star could foster a dynamic backcourt with four-time All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who averaged 22.2 points and 5.1 assists in her sixth WNBA season.
It will be an interesting offseason for the team that is now expected to be selected first in next year’s draft. The franchise will have to make offseason decisions regarding star forwards Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally, who are unrestricted free agents.
And the franchise is also looking for a new head coach after firing Latricia Trammell after two seasons.
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