"You picked JuJu over me? What's up with that?": Paige Bueckers reveals hilarious Diana Taurasi confrontation from All-Star weekend

UConn star Paige Bueckers has led the Huskies to an unbeaten Big East (16-0) and a 26-3 overall record with her stellar performances this season. Against the Seton Hall Pirates, Bueckers reached a major landmark when she passed UConn legend Diana Taurasi for points scored for the Huskies to climb to No. 9 on the all-time scoring list led by Maya Moore (3,036 points).

During an ESPN interview on Wednesday with people who had interacted with Taurasi, the popular Bueckers revealed a hilarious confrontation that she had with the WNBA legend after she picked USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins over her during an interview at the WNBA All-Star weekend.

"She (Taurasi) came to Minneapolis to the 2022 Final Four and saw us after the semis when we won to go to the national championship," Paige Bueckers said. "She was super encouraging. And she's super loving. She tells me all the time that she loves me, she'll do anything for me, she always has my back.

"They were asking questions to the players, quick hitters. And one was, 'If you had to pick one college player to join your pickup team, who would you pick?'

"She picked JuJu Watkins. I saw the video and I was like, 'All right, bro, I see what you're doing. You picked JuJu over me. What's up with that? You told me you had my back, it was me over everybody.' And she was like, "Yeah, dog, I just did that to motivate you. It's all motivation."

How Paige Bueckers learned leadership from Diana Taurasi

Diana Taurasi is a certified UConn icon, winning three national championships (2002-2004) under legendary Huskies coach Geno Auriemma. In those championships, she won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player twice.

Paige Bueckers is also considered a Huskies legend and made her mark when she won the Naismith College Player of the Year and John R. Wooden Award as a freshman.

During Wednesday's interview with ESPN, Bueckers revealed what she learned from Taurasi's legendary UConn career.

"That's the biggest thing that I've learned: Holding other people accountable and getting on people and demanding greatness out of people isn't a bad thing. You're not calling people out, you're calling people up," Bueckers said. "Take it as a compliment, and not, 'Oh, Paige is on me, I'm doing bad.' I expect greatness out of you, and I expect you to be better."

Paige Bueckers is widely projected to be the No. 1 pick during the 2025 WNBA draft, following in the footsteps of Diana Taurasi, who was picked No. 1 by the Mercury Phoenix in the 2004 draft.