Wings' Paige Bueckers faces ex-UConn teammate for 1st time in WNBA
Dallas Wings rookie guard Paige Bueckers played alongside many talented players during her time as a UConn Husky. Despite that, Bueckers has emerged as the WNBA's newest young superstar in 2025. She will play against one of them on Tuesday night when she leads her team against the Golden State Valkyries. She and the Wings take on Kaitlyn Chen and the Valkyries, looking for their first home win of the season.
Bueckers led the Huskies to the national championship this spring. While Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong were her co-stars, Chen provided crucial scoring and playmaking in the backcourt. Her play throughout the NCAA Tournament impressed WNBA teams enough that the Valkyries selected her in the third round of the draft.
Chen has yet to step foot on the court for Golden State this season. However, the rookie guard makes her WNBA debut against her former college teammate in a highly-anticipated showdown. The Valkyries are without three players, including standout rookie Janelle Salaun, for the time being. They are headed overseas to participate in EuroBasket, a tournament that could run until the end of the month.
Their absence gives Chen an opportunity to prove herself at the professional level. However, she will not have it easy in her debut appearance. No player in the league knows her and her tendencies better than a former teammate that spent a season with her at UConn. However, that could work the other way as well.
https://clutchpoints.com/wnba/dallas-wings/wings-news-paige-bueckers-faces-ex-uconn-teammate-1st-time-wnba