logo
WNBA Shares Four-Word Reaction to Paige Bueckers' Unexpected Public Appearance

WNBA Shares Four-Word Reaction to Paige Bueckers' Unexpected Public Appearance

Yahoo22-05-2025
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers is set to make her WNBA regular season debut on Friday night after an impressive preseason showing.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft posted 10 points, four rebounds, and an assist against the Las Vegas Aces on May 2. She followed that up with 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists this past Saturday against Team Toyota Antelopes.
Advertisement
With a few days left before the real action gets underway, Bueckers took some time to enjoy watching another Dallas professional sports team. On Tuesday night, she was spotted at American Airlines Center, cheering on the Dallas Stars as they faced the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 6-foot guard was seated in the front row on the glass, and the Stars made sure to send her a warm welcome. The team shared a video on social media showing Bueckers waving to the camera and repping her Stars jersey.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers.Jerome Miron
"SHE'S NUMBER 1! Welcome to Dallas, Paige Bueckers!" the Stars captioned the post.
After the video was posted, the WNBA saw it and reacted.
Advertisement
"Hey we know her!" the WNBA wrote.
Bueckers may have just been drafted in April, but the league already knows what she brings to the table. The former UConn star is expected to make an immediate impact on a Dallas Wings team that finished 9-31 last season.
The 23-year-old spent five years at UConn, where she led the Huskies to a national championship in her final season. Along the way, she collected multiple National Player of the Year honors and became a three-time unanimous First Team All-American.
Related: Fans Notice Caitlin Clark Being Treated Differently Than Paige Bueckers
Related: Paige Bueckers, Cooper Flagg's Salary Gap Turns Heads
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

As the WNBA grows and evolves, camp day games remain a unique staple: 'We know it's gonna be really, really loud'
As the WNBA grows and evolves, camp day games remain a unique staple: 'We know it's gonna be really, really loud'

Yahoo

time18 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

As the WNBA grows and evolves, camp day games remain a unique staple: 'We know it's gonna be really, really loud'

CHICAGO — Girls wearing red, black and white basketball jerseys filed into the front row of seats at the baseline at Wintrust Arena last week. The jerseys read 'Kia Nurse Elite,' and warming up in front of them was WNBA veteran and Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse, the namesake and patron of their Canadian high-performance summer team. Just as she ran off the court to head to the locker room, Nurse yelled, 'OK, high fives!' and slapped the hands of everyone on her team. These are the kind of interactions that can happen on camp days, a longtime WNBA staple. Games are held during the weekday, with start times around 11 a.m., and the stands are filled with kids from youth basketball teams and day camps around the area. Not every team hosts camp days, while some have held multiple per season. This game against the Atlanta Dream was on July 16, just before the All-Star break, as well as a Nike tournament for girls basketball in Chicago. The atmosphere is loud and fun. While there are lots of things the WNBA needs to change about the season schedule as the league grows and expands, camp days should not be on the chopping block. There's nothing like the exuberance of these games, with kids getting excited about basketball as well as the gameday experience, including scoreboard games encouraging them to dance like a hot-air inflatable, or choose the song they want to hear in full later in the game. (The kids chose Chappell Roan's 'HOT TO GO.') The major hallmark of camp days is that the kids can get really, really loud. 'At one point they were screaming, and then the announcers said 'Louder!', and I was like, I didn't know they could get louder. They did!' Dream forward Brionna Jones said. 'But you definitely feel that energy when you're playing in front of kids, because you know they're out there having fun, it makes you want to go out there.' The noise means the players have to be creative in how they communicate with each other on the court. 'We know it's gonna be really, really loud, so as far as the game goes, just trying to communicate as well as possible so we can actually hear what's going on. But we love that kind of energy that the kids bring,' Atlanta guard Maya Caldwell said. The idea behind camp days is that it will create young WNBA fans, but it's not easy on the players. The Sky's Michaela Onyenwere likes to get to the arena early to go through her pregame routine. With the 11 a.m. tipoff, her alarm clock went off at 6:15 a.m. to give her enough time to get to Wintrust and prepare for the game. Her teammate Rachel Banham admits she is not a morning person, but they both see the importance of the games. 'I think it's really fun for the kids to be able to come out and see us. It's always really, really loud. You can't hear anything, so it's definitely an adjustment, but I think it's cool that kids are able to get out here and see us,' she said. According to Front Office Sports, multiple WNBA team presidents believe the games are still valuable, and cite feedback from fans whose interest began from a camp day game. The game ended up being a blowout win for Atlanta, with the Dream winning 86-49 over the Sky. It was the kind of win that set the Dream up well heading into the second half of the season, and the kind of loss the Sky just want to forget about. Jones had 14 points and 9 rebounds, and was named to the All-Star Game the next day as an injury replacement. Perhaps somewhere among those screaming kids, there was a young girl watching how Jones grabbed those rebounds, how she went hard in the paint, and found a role model. The camp games are a little different for the players, and ask more of them, but they get the point: maybe that young fan will play in a WNBA camp day 20 years from now.

CBS shares midseason WNBA report card for Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
CBS shares midseason WNBA report card for Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

CBS shares midseason WNBA report card for Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

The first half of the WNBA season was a bit of a rollercoaster for the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark. Between scuffles, hard fouls, and some injuries plaguing Clark, it was a grind. The Fever had a taxing first half of the year, which was met by the much-needed All-Star break to allow them to catch their breath as a team and allow Clark to continue to heal from a nagging groin injury. But, as good teams do, they find ways to win. The Fever squeaked out a 12-11 record in the first half and are looking to regroup as the stretch run approaches. With the first half of the season in the rearview mirror, the Fever still earned a fair grade despite barely being over .500. In their WNBA midseason grades, CBS Sports gave Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever a B- that has room for optimism and improvement. Indiana Fever: B- Caitlin Clark will not play in the Fever's first game out of the break, a road trip to face the Liberty, due to a right groin issue. This is the third different soft tissue injury she's dealt with this season, and after Tuesday night will have appeared in 13 of the Fever's 24 games. Add in the Commissioner's Cup championship and it's 13 of 25. When she has been on the court, Clark has been unable to buy a 3-pointer. She's 2 of 35 from downtown on the road, and is shooting 27.9% from 3-point range for the season. And yet, the Fever are in sixth place with the fourth-best net rating. All the metrics say this is one of the best teams in the league with Clark healthy, but whether she'll be able to stay on the court remains to be seen. - Jack Maloney, CBS Sports If Caitlin Clark can return to form and get her health back, the Indiana Fever have the pieces in place to contend for a deep run in the WNBA playoffs. That question of her health, though, remains the biggest one across the entire league right now. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7

Lynx HC Cheryl Reeve drops truth bomb on StudBudz All-Star livestream
Lynx HC Cheryl Reeve drops truth bomb on StudBudz All-Star livestream

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Lynx HC Cheryl Reeve drops truth bomb on StudBudz All-Star livestream

The post Lynx HC Cheryl Reeve drops truth bomb on StudBudz All-Star livestream appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Minnesota Lynx are well-represented at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend, with MVP candidate Napheesa Collier headlining her own All-Star Game team that also features star Courtney Williams as a reserve and Cheryl Reeve filling her familiar position of head coach. But so far, the most attention they've drawn has come from their off-court activities. Williams, along with Natisha Hiedeman — who traveled to Indiana with her teammates — make up the infamous duo known as the StudBudz and regularly stream together on Twitch. The two decided to turn All-Star weekend into a 72-hour livestream on their channel, giving WNBA fans an entertaining behind-the-scenes look into the league's players and the pair's movements. Reeve revealed during a Friday press conference what she thinks about Williams and Hiedeman's antics. 'They are being themselves,' Reeve said simply. 'I remember a time in our league where that would not have been okay … I think it's really telling, is what we've been saying for years, and what you all have been working on for years — telling the stories of the players.' Fans got to witness many notable events that were captured on stream throughout the night, but one interaction involved their head coach, who joined the two at a party that took place as WNBA players arrived in Indianapolis to tip off the weekend. Reeve was seen on camera for a short time, turning up and dancing with her players to a Bobby Shmurda song in a hilarious and surprisingly endearing bonding moment between the three. The courtside boss clearly gives Williams and Hiedeman her approval for their stream and the amount of attention it's bringing to the WNBA. However, the next morning, Reeve joked that the video circulating online of the moment wasn't her at all and was instead AI-generated. If the Lynx present at All-Star Weekend can translate their downtime success into on-court chemistry during the WNBA All-Star Game, Team Collier should have no problem taking care of a Caitlin Clark-less Team Clark when the main event starts July 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Related: Lynx's Napheesa Collier makes bold Angel Reese 'Team Pheebounds' declaration Related: Storm's Skylar Diggins, Lynx's Courtney Williams exchange trash talk before WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store