$1.5 million NIL-valued Paige Bueckers expresses gratitude for fans travelling from as far as 3824 miles: “I never wanted to become normal”

Paige Bueckers is one of the most beloved players in college basketball, and the guard enjoys a large fan presence at her games.

During the tip-off against Providence on Sunday, fans held up signs of their long journey, with one fan writing:

"Flew from Sweden 3824 miles to see Paige and the future stars of the W."

Other signs read that they flew in from 1329 miles away and even from Nova Scotia, Canada.

Fan signs of support for Bueckers and the Huskies (Credits: Instagram/@uconnwbb)

In the post-game press conference, the $1.5 million NIL-valued (per On3) Paige Bueckers was about her thoughts on fans traveling from afar to watch her play.

"It's never something I take for granted. Like you said, this isn't normal, and I never wanted to become normal. And I never want to take it for granted that people spend their hard-earned money, their time, their energy, their effort to come watch us play.

"And so, before that game, I was reading the signs. It's just surreal and it's very humbling. It definitely makes you realize how blessed you are to be where you are at. I'm just super grateful for it. That's something that I think about before games. Every single time we suit up there's a new person in the stands watching us play."

Not just Paige Bueckers but the entire UConn team is aware of their fans' dedication as she quoted her coach Geno Auriemma as saying:

"People spend their money and time to come to watch us play in person to not give everything you have is cheating yourself and cheating them."

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Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies bounce back

Although the Huskies began their season with an eight-game winning streak, they lost their first game against Notre Dame last month. While they bounced back, UConn lost another heavyweight clash against the USC Trojans in their last game before holiday break.

With Paige Bueckers returning to action after the week-long time off, she led the Huskies to a 67-41 win over Providence. This is the guard's final season at UConn, and she has set the national championship as her goal. While she has all the pieces necessary for the run, the team struggles with inconsistent performance, especially against top-ranked teams.

Bueckers is leading the team, averaging 20.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists. She will require her team to step up if they hope to keep their title dreams alive.