“Before the braid”: Fans react to clip of WNBA bound Paige Bueckers dominating opponents playing varsity as an eighth grader

UConn star Paige Bueckers revealed on Friday that she is ready for the next step of her career and will enter the 2025 WNBA draft. With that, the Courtside Films posted a throwback video on Instagram during her days as a middle school player, playing for Hopkins in eighth grade and already showing glimpses of what the future brings.

The highlights came from when she was still a 5-foot-9 guard for Hopkins, scoring 12 points against the No. 1-ranked team in Minnesota back then. Fans reacted on the post:

"Before the braid," one commenter posted.

"Seen a interview where she said she started playing ball in middle school lol ion think I believe that anymore," another fan said.

"She’s classic. Love the claps. She still brings the same energy!," a fan commented.

Others commented that she played at an elite school, while another noted that she was a generational talent. Meanwhile, the Courtside Hoops page also commented on the video and noted her stats at UConn.

"Yalent and is another generational player. Hope the Huskies ek," one fan said.

"Her alma mater has set a record for the number of state championships won," another fan wrote.

"In her final year at UConn Paige shot 54% FG, 40% 3-PT and 90% FT 🎯," Courtside Films commented, highlighting Bueckers' shooting stats.

Fans react to Paige Bueckers during her 8th grade varsity run (Source: Instagram/@courtsidefilms)

Paige Bueckers played junior varsity for Hopkins in seventh grade and was allowed to join the high school varsity squad in eighth grade, which meant she started playing high school hoops in middle school. She averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals, before eventually continuing to play for Hopkins as a high school freshman the following year.

What were Paige Bueckers' high school basketball accolades?

When she graduated in 2020, Paige Bueckers was ranked the No. 1 overall by ESPN and was a five-star whom various schools offered scholarships.

Before she played for UConn, she was a standout at Hopkins, where she was given several awards.

Even though the games were canceled due to the pandemic, she was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

She was also the Naismith Player of the Year, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, and the Minnesota Miss Basketball. She was also her school's record-setter for points (2,877), assists (795) and steals (574).