Paige Bueckers is in rarefied air.
On Wednesday night, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft scored 23 points to pass UConn legend Diana Taurasi for ninth on the Huskies’ all-time scoring list.
Bueckers scored her 2,158th point for the University of Connecticut in a 91-49 win over Seton Hall.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing as she limped off after clutching her knee in the first half, only to then hobble towards the locker room in clear discomfort.
Thankfully, she was able to return to the game.
The 23-year-old guard is already the fastest player to reach 2,000 points in program history, breaking Maya Moore’s previous record of 108 games, needing only 102 games to reach the milestone mark.
With three regular season games left on the season, Bueckers is well on track to surpass Kerry Bascom (2,177 points), Nykesha Sales (2,178) and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2,178), and make it to at least No. 6 on UConn’s scoring list.
The two-time First Team All-American leads her team in scoring with 18.4 points per game this season, as well as assists, with 4.6 per game.
Like Caitlin Clark last year, Bueckers is a shoo-in to be selected No. 1 overall in the upcoming WNBA Draft.
And much like the Indiana Fever phenom, Bueckers is becoming a powerhouse brand all in her own right.
According to Sportico, she has earned more than a million dollars in NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals.
Per On3, Bueckers has the 49th highest NIL valuation among all student-athletes in the US.
She’s third among women, behind only gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne and LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson.
Since the advent of NIL, Bueckers has reportedly inked deals with more than 25 companies, including Panini, Verizon, Bose, and Gatorade. Nearly half those are multiyear deals with plans to extend into the WNBA once she gets there.
She recently became the first Nike NIL athlete to design her own pair of player edition basketball shoes (Paige Bueckers G.T. Hustle 3).
Bueckers is also a limited partner with upstart women’s basketball league Unrivaled — a 3-vs-3 professional women’s basketball league currently taking place in Miami between many of the WNBA’s top players, including Angel Reese.
She’s also involved with Overtime, where she serves as an advisor for its new girls basketball league (Overtime Select) to help increase its visibility.
Bueckers won the Wooden Award and AP Player of the Year in 2021, and she was also a unanimous first-team All-American and Big East Player of the Year in 2021 and 2024.
Alongside USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins, she’s the best player in women’s college basketball.
Bueckers will try to guide the Huskies to their first national championship since 2016 at the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Though she still has an additional year of NCAA eligibility, she is expected to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft where she will likely be taken at No. 1 by the Dallas Wings.
