Where will UConn star Paige Bueckers land in WNBA? Here’s the contenders for the 2025 top draft pick
And while we won’t officially know where she’ll play until next April’s 2025 WNBA Draft, the list of teams vying for the chance to pick the UConn women’s basketball star is beginning to narrow.
The 2024 WNBA regular season ends in one week. The teams with the four worst combined records, from both this season and last, will be put into a lottery in likely early December to decide which teams get picks No. 1 through No. 4 in April’s draft.
And with Bueckers expected to go No. 1 overall, the anticipation to add the league’s next big star is already high.
With a week left in the regular season, Los Angeles (7-30), Dallas (9-27), Washington (12-24) and Atlanta (12-24) are at the bottom of the standings. Last season, Phoenix (9-31), Seattle (11-29), Indiana (13-27) and Los Angeles (17-23) finished last in the rankings.
The Sparks and Wings have been eliminated from the playoffs this year
While Washington, Atlanta and Chicago are all still competing for the final spot.
As of now, the teams with the worst combined records are Los Angeles (24-53), Phoenix (26-50), Washington (31-45), Dallas (31-45) and Atlanta (31-45). Washington holds Atlanta’s first-round pick through a trade, so the Mystics could have increased odds of landing the top pick.
The league’s newest expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, will debut next season.
While the WNBA has yet to announce what its expansion draft will look like and what draft picks the Valkyries will have in April’s college draft, the new team means each franchise will have its roster shaken up.
Based on how expansion drafts have worked in the past, it doesn’t seem likely Golden State would have a chance at picking up Bueckers unless it came through a major trade.
So we’ll exclude the Valkyries as we run through the leading lottery candidates and how Bueckers may fit with each team:
Playoff history: Haven’t qualified for the postseason since 2020 after falling in the second round of the Bubbled playoffs. Made the semifinals in 2019. Last played in the finals in 2017.
Has won three WNBA titles: 2001, 2002 and 2016.
The fit: With Bueckers, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, the Sparks would boast three of the most dominant young stars in the league. While Brink missed the majority of her rookie year this summer due to an ACL injury, she’s expected to return for 2025.
In L.A., Bueckers would immediately get the space needed to not only run the offense but become a vital scorer working alongside Brink and Jackson.
Add in veterans Dearica Hamby and fellow former Huskies Kia Nurse and Azurá Stevens, and L.A. would have all the right pieces to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Added bonus: With L.A. being a hub for all things NIL and entertainment
Bueckers’ fame would continue to reach unprecedented levels as she dives into new endeavors, like fashion world and more endorsements.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers drives past Stanford’s Cameron Brink during the second half of a college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Women’s Final Four NCAA tournament Friday, April 1, 2022, in Minneapolis.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers drives past Stanford’s Cameron Brink during the second half of a college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Women’s Final Four NCAA tournament Friday, April 1, 2022, in Minneapolis.
Playoff history: Didn’t qualify in 2023. Fell in the first round in 2022. Lost the 2021 WNBA Finals to Chicago. Has won three WNBA titles: 2007, 2009 and 2014.
The fit: With Husky legend Diana Taurasi likely retiring after this season, Bueckers’ addition to the Mercury would be the perfect, and literal, changing-of-guard moment for the franchise — from one UConn great to another. While no one player can ever replace Taurasi’s impact, Bueckers would shine in Phoenix.
Not only would she play alongside two of the league’s top guards in Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud, but she’d help replace Taurasi’s scoring production. And with court vision like Taurasi has
Bueckers can smoothly play positions one through three.
Added bonus: The Mercury just opened a brand new, state-of-the-art practice facility that would give Bueckers access to some of the latest and best player resources in the league. Plus, she’d still be relatively close to Los Angeles for opportunities to grow her brand even more.
Playoff history: Lost in the first round in both 2023 and 2022 after failing to qualify in 2021. Defeated Connecticut in the 2019 WNBA Finals for the franchise’s first and only championship.
The fit: The Mystics spent 2024 in rebuilding mode after Cloud left for Phoenix and star big Elena Delle Donne decided to sit out the year.
While Delle Donne’s status in the league for 2025 is still unclear
She and Bueckers would help bring Washington back to playoff contention.
Bueckers would likely run the Mystics’ offense and have immense help in the frontcourt thanks to Shakria Austin and former Huskies Stefanie Dolson and Aaliyah Edwards.
While D.C. isn’t a flashy market like Los Angeles, Bueckers would have all the room on the court to do her thing and bring up the team. She would play for Thibault, the son of former Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault and the brother of Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis.
Added bonus: Bueckers spent her first four years at UConn playing with Edwards. The duo’s two-man game became incredibly powerful. If the two got the chance to play together again, their familiarity would translate well in the league and further boost the Mystics offensive options.
