Women's Fastbreak On SI

UConn's Paige Bueckers Ribs Nika Muhl With Knee-Related Name Amid ACL Recovery

UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers had jokes for Nika Muhl after the Storm player's most recent Instagram post about her ACL surgery.

Grant Young

Mar 1, 2021; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) (left) and guard Nika Muhl (right) warm up before a game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 1, 2021; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) (left) and guard Nika Muhl (right) warm up before a game against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

In early October, beloved former UConn Huskies superstar and current Seattle Storm player Nika Muhl twisted her knee awkwardly after grabbing a rebound while playing for the Turkish league's Beşiktaş Women's Basketball Team.

She fell straight to the ground, grabbed her left knee, and began screaming in pain. Soon after this occurred, news broke that Muhl suffered a torn ACL in her knee, which would require surgery and force her to miss the 2025 WNBA season.

Muhl is extremely close friends with current Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers. In the wake of Muhl's injury, Bueckers shared a photo of them embracing on the court on her Instagram story with the caption, "My strong strong twin. Nothing you can't handle Lets do it... God speed! 🫶 @nika.muhl".

Soon after Muhl got surgery, she made an Instagram post of her in bed with sunglasses on and cradling two cats, with the caption, "Day 1 featuring Mad Max & G 🦿lets get it".

The post's top comment came from Bueckers, who gave Muhl a new nickname by writing, "Big purr".

On Thursday, Muhl posted a montage of photos to her Instagram that showed her posing before a Storm game along with a photo of her surgically repaired knee with the caption, "stepping into the new year with a new knee be likeeee".

Once again, the top comment is from Bueckers, who offered her another new nickname.

"New Kneeka😝," Bueckers wrote, which is clearly a riff on the sonic similarity between "Nika" and "Kneeka".

Bueckers' teammate KK Arnold got in on the fun by writing, "KNEEK KNEEK😛".

Given that Muhl's former teammates are cracking jokes, the Storm standout must be in good spirits regarding her surgery and ensuing recovery.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

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