A star in the making, Paige Bueckers has been penciled as a top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft for quite some time. Like Caitlin Clark last year, Bueckers has dominated the WNBA Draft conversations this year.
While there were some rumors that she might play in Unrivaled for a year and then enter the 2026 WNBA Draft instead, Bueckers has officially decided to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft, as she revealed to Hall of Famer and current ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo.
Now that we know the UConn Huskies point guard will officially be up for grabs in April, where will she land?
Projections for Paige Bueckers in the 2025 WNBA Draft
As per the WNBA rules, a player must declare for the draft within 48 hours of their team’s season-ending game. UConn has qualified for the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA, and Bueckers is ready to put on a show.
Her sights are on her first national championship, but over the past few days, but her WNBA dream is only months away. In such a scenario, let’s look at the Top five teams where Bueckers could play in the coming season.
Dallas Wings
The Dallas Wings got their hands on the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery and would consider themselves lucky that they can acquire Bueckers.
The 23-year-old is a franchise-altering talent, and that is exactly what the Wings need after going through less-than-incredible seasons over the years. Much like Clark, Bueckers has been projected to go No. 1 overall in most mock drafts.
However, things get interesting because there have been rumors that Bueckers doesn’t want to join the Wings. “There is a widely held belief around the league that [Bueckers] is going to go full Eli Manning,” said WNBA journalist Howard Megdal.
With that said, Wings GM Curt Miller shot down this notion and made it clear that they want to make Bueckers a franchise cornerstone alongside Arike Ogunbowale.
“We have not heard anything directly that any person eligible for this draft would not want to play in Dallas,” Miller told The Dallas Morning News. “In fact, Arike hears from most of the top possible draft picks in this class, and they’re all really, really excited about possibly pairing with Arike.”
Assuming Bueckers doesn’t try to force her way elsewhere, her partnership with Ogunbowale would be must-watch television for basketball fans worldwide.
Seattle Storm
For the sake of the argument, let’s assume that Bueckers does decide to pull an Eli Manning and tells the Wings she won’t play if they draft her. That would be music to the Seattle Storm’s ears, as they have the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
The Storm acquired this pick from the Los Angeles Sparks as part of a three-team deal that also included the Las Vegas Aces, giving up Jewell Loyd as part of the trade. The Storm also landed the Aces’ 2026 first-round pick and Li Yueru in this deal, which also featured Kelsey Plum joining the Sparks.
Seattle is now in a prime position to land Bueckers if she isn’t a fan of Dallas.
Washington Mystics
Not only do the Washington Mystics have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, but they also have three top-six picks (No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6).
This gives Washington enough draft capital to flex their muscles and try to pull off a blockbuster draft-day trade.
If Washington believes that Bueckers can be a game-changing and bring them closer to the title they haven’t won since 2020, they could use their firepower to trade up and land the UConn star.
Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks have been going all out to assemble a dream team. A rookie like Bueckers fits the bill perfectly, and this would be a terrific situation for her — both in terms of the talent on the team and the huge market. As the Sparks try to revive the franchise’s glory days, perhaps they try to push all of their chips to the middle of the table to bring in Bueckers.
L.A.’s huge market has helped their various sports professional teams attract top talent over the years. However, it’s worth noting that landing Bueckers would require multiple events to go their way. They are certainly a long shot compared to Dallas, Seattle, and Washington.
Indiana Fever
A pairing of Clark and Bueckers would not only cause the franchise’s title hopes to skyrocket, but the WNBA as a whole would benefit massively. This one-two punch would bring in crazy television ratings and boost ticket sales.
While the Fever do not currently have any picks in the first round and look like a long shot to land Bueckers, stranger things have happened before in the WNBA Draft. The thought of this tandem is just too fun to leave Indiana off of this list.