“I will do my part”: UConn star Paige Bueckers has high ambition to change the world

UConn's Paige Bueckers knows that life is more important than basketball, and she let the world know. She gave a heartwarming statement about what she expects to achieve with her fame, claiming that:

"I feel like my purpose in life is to use my platform to try and help the world to become a better place. I know that I'm not going to change the world by myself, but I will do my part."

Bueckers is currently preparing for what will be her last season with the Huskies, as she looks to potentially cap off her five-year college career with a national championship.

During her time at Storrs, she has won numerous accolades including the AP Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year, and the John R. Wooden Award. She has also been a two-time Unanimous All-American, two-time Big East Player of the Year, and a two-time First Team All-Big East selection.

However, she is yet to clinch the coveted national title. The Huskies haven't won the women's basketball natty since 2016.

Paige Bueckers shows her style at the 2024 ESPYs

The world of American sport converged at the ESPYs ceremony on Thursday, and Paige Bueckers wasn't going to miss it. She was seen on the event's red carpet wearing a lilac KidSuper suit. Ahead of the event she described her fashion style as follows to fashion magazine Highsnobiety:

“My style is a mix of feminine and masculine,"

In the interview she touched upon the point of using her fame to achieve some degree of social justice, referencing her use of the platform at the 2021 ESPYs to advocate for female black athletes. She told the magazine:

“They don’t get the media coverage that they deserve. They’ve given so much to the sport, the community and society as a whole and their value is undeniable.

I play a sport that has a large population of Black female athletes that I don't think get nearly close to the amount of attention that the white female athletes do, so the ESPYS felt like the perfect opportunity to speak up on this because a great number of people were watching and following that event.”

This is a demonstration that contributing her grain of sand to the betterment of society is front and center for Paige Bueckers. She says the fame she has garnered playing sports is a tool she can use to advocate worthy causes.