HARTFORD, Conn. — Paige Bueckers is most familiar with winter weather after growing up in Minnesota and spending her college career in Connecticut, but the former UConn women’s basketball star is quickly making herself at home in Texas as the newest member of the Dallas Wings.

From city officials to veteran players to fans, hundreds crowded into Dallas City Hall on Wednesday afternoon to witness Bueckers and the rest of the Wings’ rookies make their first official appearance since they were selected in the WNBA draft last week. Joining Bueckers were 12th overall pick Aziaha James from North Carolina State, Mississippi’s Madison Scott, West Virginia’s JJ Quinerly and Baylor’s Aaronette Vonleh.

The five draftees were all gifted white Stetson cowboy hats by city manager Kim Bizor Tolbert. Bueckers quickly donned the hat with a delighted grin — though she had to adjust it before taking photos with her new teammates after realizing she’d put it on backward.

“Everybody’s talked about just being a part of a new family, being a part of a new city. Dallas is a great sports city, and you can feel the love and the support already,” Bueckers said. “There’s a lot new in this organization, so to be a part of something and build with each other and just create a new sisterhood, I’m really excited — and also (for) the boots, the cowboy hats, the country music, just investing all of ourselves into Dallas.”

Bueckers has been in Dallas less than two days, but she became a presumed member of the Wings almost as soon as the team won the WNBA draft lottery back on Nov. 17. Curt Miller was hired in his first full-time general manger role with the Wings just days before the lottery, and he was was ecstatic when Dallas secured the No. 1 pick because he was confident it would give him the opportunity to make Bueckers the face of a new era for the franchise.

The Wings also enter the 2025 season with first-time head coach Chris Koclanes and just three returning players on the roster, so Miller sees Bueckers as the perfect piece to help reestablish the franchise as one of the WNBA’s prime destinations. Bueckers is one of the most famous players in women’s basketball with more than 6.1 million combined followers across Instagram and TikTok, and she is also one of the most decorated on the court after capping her final college season with UConn’s long-awaited 12th NCAA championship. The star guard was a three-time first-team All-American for the Huskies and averaged 19.9 points plus 4.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 2024-25.

“I was praying not to be No. 4. We weren’t four. Number 3 came, and we weren’t three, and I was like, ‘This is awesome, we’re gonna be No. 2,'” Miller said. “the viral video shows, I was taking a video with my own cell phone of the moment that (the Los Angeles Sparks) were called as No. 2, meaning that we won the draft lottery, and I absolutely lost my mind.

“We knew what that meant in that moment … (it) was a special player and a special addition for Dallas.”

The Wings are entering the season with high but realistic expectations coming off of a 9-31 record in 2024, and Miller acknowledged that it’s going to take time for so many new pieces to develop the chemistry necessary to be successful. Bueckers’ early goals are focused less on hard metrics and more on defining a winning culture for Dallas’ fresh start.

“It’s (about) just the people, the culture, Dallas becoming a place where everybody wants to play and everybody here wants to stay,” Bueckers said. “We’re building that foundation of really enjoying being around each other, enjoying playing together, enjoying being together off the court, on the court, in all aspects.”

The veteran centerpiece of the Wings is guard Arike Ogunbowale, a player UConn fans aren’t used to seeing on their side. The former Notre Dame star hit the infamous buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the 2018 Final Four that ended the Huskies’ undefeated season, and she went on to make another in the championship to win the Irish their first national title since 2001.

Ogunbowale has continued to shine in the WNBA since she was drafted No. 5 by Dallas in 2019. In six seasons, she is a four-time All-Star, two-time MVP of the All-Star Game and a three-time All-WNBA selection.

Bueckers played a variety of roles throughout her UConn career and was often the team’s primary offensive option, so she said she’s looking forward to leaning into her pass-first point guard instincts with with a prolific scorer like Ogunbowale beside her. The Wings also bring back 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan, and 2023 lottery pick Maddy Siegrist is poised for a breakout season after a hot start in 2024. The former Villanova forward was averaging 14.6 points over her first 13 games before a broken finger sidelined her for nearly eight weeks.

“(Ogunbowale) is electric. She can score at all three levels and is obviously a bucket-getter, so looking to assist her a lot, space the floor, get her open, look to play off each other,” Bueckers said. “But I’m just excited for everybody on the team. We’ve got some dogs, so just excited to build that in camp, build a passion, build just the excitement for a new system, a new coaching staff, new team, just a lot of new stuff. So excited to build with everyone.”

____

©2025 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.