"Feeling very excited, very anxious": Paige Bueckers gets real on her feelings hours before 2025 WNBA draft

WNBA: Draft - Source: Imagn — Paige Bueckers gets real on her feelings hours before 2025 WNBA draft. (Credits: IMAGN)

UConn star Paige Bueckers won the 2025 NCAA Championship with the Huskies on Sunday (Apr. 6), but she has little time to rest. Why? The WNBA draft - scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET - comes eight days after the championship game. She is the presumptive number-one pick in the draft.

Heading into the draft, it would be natural for Bueckers to be nervous. After all, it is a monumental day in her life. It is the day she transitions from being an amateur athlete to a professional.

In the hours before the 2025 WNBA draft, the UConn Women's Basketball account on X (formerly) posted a video of Paige Bueckers speaking about how she is excited yet nervous about the draft. However, she added that she appreciates her teammates and coaches will be there to support her.

"Hello everyone! I'm feeling very excited, very anxious, but very excited for the next steps. Obviously, bittersweet moment. I love everything about UConn. But very excited for tonight. All my teammates will be there. The coaching staff will be there. So, excited to share this moment with them."

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Paige Bueckers is projected to be selected by the Dallas Wings with the first pick in the 2025 WNBA draft

For most players entering the WNBA draft, it could be an anxiety-riddled event. They do not know when in the draft they will go or what team they will selected by. Where they are living for the next several years will be determined in one night. However, the night is a little different for Paige Bueckers.

The projected first pick, Bueckers, faces no challengers for the top selection. Therefore, her destination seems certain: she is expected to join the Dallas Wings, who won the draft lottery.

Bueckers will likely join the Dallas Wings unless they trade the pick, which is unlikely. Paige Bueckers has consistently been a top prospect in women's college basketball, so Dallas is expected to keep the pick.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by William Paul