“She changed my life”: When Paige Bueckers credited 1 person for her comeback from ACL injury

Paige Bueckers talked about finding her confidence after her ACL injury on the WNBA All-Star bonus episode of "A Touch More," released on Aug. 10, 2024. The guard suffered the injury while playing a pick-up game in August 2022, forcing her to miss the 2022-23 season.

Speaking to WNBA legend Sue Bird and former soccer player Megan Rapinoe, Bueckers highlighted the toll the injury took on her, the lessons it taught and how working with performance enhancement specialist Susan King Borchardt changed her athletic journey.

"It was just like a mental journey I grew a lot in my faith, my appreciation of life, never taking things for granted and just enjoying the game, enjoying the process," Bueckers said. (1:00:55 onwards.)

"I feel like adversity builds character and it builds who you are and the way you respond to it shows a lot about you and just wanting to be inspiration. I know ACL injuries um can be devastating... and now I work with Susan who changes lives. She has definitely changed my life."

Paige Bueckers and Susan King Borchardt began working together in 2023. She has worked with players like Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Nneka Ogwumike and Kelsey Plum, developing specific routines for the WNBA stars.

She coordinated different aspects for Bueckers around her rehabilitation and journey to return to the court. It has completely changed how the UConn star prepares for games, be it diet, workouts or warmups.

Susan King Borchardt also helped Bueckers understand that the only proper way to prevent injury is to minimize its chances.

Kobe Bryant's book helped Paige Bueckers throughout her injury

Paige Bueckers said that she thought a lot about the late Kobe Bryant during the initial days of her injury in an exclusive interview with ESPN. She also tapped into his mentality by reading "Mamba Mentality."

"When this injury first happened, I thought a lot about Kobe," Bueckers said (4:15 onwards). "I read "The Mamba Mentality" book and how he just looked at his injury as another way to prove people wrong and as another thing to accomplish.

"Kobe loved challenges, so anything that he could face that people had doubts of, that he could overcome, made him want to do it even more. So, his mentality, his approach, just how much he dedicated his life to the game."

Paige Bueckers returned to action at the start of the 2023-24 season, scoring eight points, seven rebounds and four assists against Dayton. She averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists throughout the season, leading UConn to a Final Four appearance.