Is Paige Bueckers joining Unrivaled before WNBA? Looking at UConn star's latest NIL move 

UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers is expected to play in the Unrivaled Basketball League, as well as in the WNBA. Bueckers agreed to a NIL deal with the new 3-on-3 women's basketball league.

Basketball insider Shams Charnia broke the news on Thursday and added that Bueckers will also get an ownership stake in the venture.

"UConn’s Paige Bueckers is signing an NIL deal with the new women’s basketball league Unrivaled that makes her the first NCAA athlete to receive ownership equity in a league. Bueckers is expected to play in Unrivaled, along with the WNBA, after her college career is over," Charania posted.

Unrivaled was created by former UConn players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. The league will have 30 players with an average salary of $250,000 per season.

The league is set to launch in 2025 and will run during the WNBA offseason allowing players to remain stateside and not have to go overseas to make more money.

“Women’s sports is on such a rise, and it feels like everyone is benefiting from that except the women in the sport, and obviously that’s something we’re trying to change and then also create generational wealth for these women,” Collier told The Athletic in May. “From the beginning, (Stewart) and I really set out to create a league that was founded on that principle that players deserve compensation and ownership that reflect their value.”

Bueckers is the first player to commit to the new women's pro basketball league. However, the league will likely attract other star players.

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The star guard averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists last season — her first year back from a torn ACL. Bueckers has led the Huskies to two Final Four appearances and helped the team reach the national championship game in 2022.