UConn's Paige Bueckers Breaks Silence After WNBA Draft Lottery With Cheeky Message
The 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery took place on Sunday, with the Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky, and Washington Mystics all vying for the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Securing the top spot in next year's draft is seen as a franchise-altering move, given that generational talent Paige Bueckers of the UConn Huskies is expected to be taken with the first overall spot.
And it was the Dallas Wings who won the rights to the Bueckers sweepstakes by the lottery results gifting them the draft's No. 1 pick.
Select members of the Wings and the organization as a whole are extremely excited about the prospect of bringing Bueckers on board.
However, given that ESPN insider Michael Voepel wrote on Monday that, "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," it was unclear how Bueckers felt about the lottery results.
The 22-year-old Huskies player spoke with the media on Tuesday, ahead of UConn's game against Farleigh Dickinson on Wednesday. And Bueckers kept her cards close to her chest when asked about the lottery results.
ESPN reporter Alexa Philippou posted on X Tuesday, "Asked Paige Bueckers if she watched the draft lottery this weekend.
“No, I did not.”
Paige Bueckers was asked if she watched the draft lottery.
— WNBA Central (@TheWCentral) November 19, 2024
"No I did not"pic.twitter.com/yCOnL5AIhb
"On how she’s dealt with WNBA distractions/conversations and her place in them:
“I think I’ve mostly dealt with it by focusing on having a great practice today.”
Philippou then added, "(She had a cheeky smile saying this)".
(She had a cheeky smile saying this)
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) November 19, 2024
Take what you will from this response and ensuing smile from the Huskies superstar.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.