Number five on the UConn Huskies has been doing it all this season! WNBA fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Paige Bueckers to the pro league, and it’s not hard to see why. The six-foot guard from UConn has led her team to an unbeaten conference record, displaying dominance and elite basketball IQ. Analysts are absolutely certain that Bueckers will go first in the 2025 draft, even after an unfortunate loss to Tennessee. This surety, however, might have some drawbacks for the Huskies star.

On the podcast Courtside Club, show host Rachel Annamarie DeMita broke down the draft narratives. DeMita was looking through the latest ESPN mock draft for the upcoming season, which had Bueckers at one. “This reminds me of last season in the WNBA, where the whole media narrative was A’ja Wilson is unanimous MVP.” She said, talking about the Paige Bueckers’ situation. “You couldn’t even discuss it. When you started to talk about the MVP conversation, it was A’ja Wilson is obviously unanimous MVP, but this person is also good. This is how it has been with Paige Bueckers the entire season.”

The reporter didn’t exactly agree with the lack of flexibility around the first overall pick, arguing that it created pressure and stifled necessary conversations. “Wouldn’t it be more entertaining, more interesting, if we were able to talk about these things?” DeMita said, questioning the rigidity behind the draft expectations. She brought up Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, who has come back from injury and is having a stellar year. “Couldn’t Dallas, with the new change in roster that Dallas has right now, could they go for somebody like Olivia Miles right now? We are not even able to have those conversations, because this is the headline ‘Bueckers is a lock for number one’ and it is so much pressure on her.”

Even though it is a lot of pressure, these draft expectations came as a surprise to nobody. Bueckers, like A’ja Wilson last year, has been proving her case for the draft every single night. With her consistency and work ethic, we can all see why Dallas would want to have her in April. However, the question remains of whether Paige Bueckers would want to take her talents to Texas after all.

Which team will Paige Bueckers head to? Is Dallas due for an unpleasant surprise?

Narratives behind the number one pick have been clear for quite a while, and it’s not looking great for the Wings. The word on the street is that Bueckers might not want to suit up for the Texas-based team.

DeMita discussed this issue in the latest episode of the Courtside Club. She reacted to the ESPN mock draft, and a peculiar statement caught her eye. “Once again, in this article, they mentioned that we don’t know if Paige wants to play in Dallas. That is something, at this point, so many people have been talking about it, I feel like there’s probably some truth to it.”

She reasoned further that the news has been going on for too long unchecked. “Somebody from her team, somebody from UConn, could have come out and say that’s completely false, Paige would love to play in Dallas. And no one has done that. So I seem to think there’s some truth in that.”

Due to a season-ending ACL tear during the 2022-23 season, Bueckers still holds an additional year of eligibility, giving her significant leverage over her future destination. Despite this, she has consistently stated her intention to go pro this year. It will be intriguing to see how the draft unfolds and whether the Dallas Wings can secure the Huskies’ star.