NEW YORK 鈥 Paige Bueckers is ready for her next chapter after a whirlwind week that started with her helping UConn win its 12th national championship and ended with her becoming the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick by the Dallas Wings.
鈥淚鈥檓 just extremely excited to be there. I鈥檝e only heard great things about the city," Bueckers said of Dallas. 鈥淪o excited to start that new chapter and be in a new city and explore that and give everything I have to the Wings organization. I know we鈥檙e going to do great things, and it鈥檚 a fresh start, and I think we鈥檙e all ready to do something special.鈥
The versatile UConn star is the latest Huskies standout to go No. 1, joining former greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.
Bueckers has had a busy time since helping UConn win the title on April 6. She has split her time between New York and Connecticut doing morning and nighttime talk shows. On Sunday, she took part in the Huskies' championship parade.
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UConn's Paige Bueckers, right, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the first round of the WNBA draft on Monday in New York.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad New York and Storrs are pretty close to each other because there鈥檚 been a lot of back and forth,鈥 Bueckers said. 鈥淧art of me wants to stay at school, celebrate with the team, be with them, enjoy the last moments of being in Storrs, and the other part of me has to get ready for the next chapter.鈥
Bueckers got to enjoy the moment Monday night with her UConn teammates and coach Geno Auriemma who were in the audience at the draft, which was held at The Shed in New York. Bueckers choked up when talking about her former Huskies teammates.
鈥淭hey mean everything to me. They helped me get through highs and lows,鈥 Bueckers said.
Seattle followed Dallas' selection by taking 19-year-old French star Dominique Malonga with the No. 2 pick. The 6-foot-6 Malonga was part of the silver medal winning French Olympic basketball team. She's the first French player to be drafted this high since 1997, when Isabelle Fijalkowski went second.
鈥淚 was so proud to achieve that goal,鈥 Malonga said. 鈥淚t showed that French basketball has evolved as we鈥檝e seen the past few years on the NBA side. We see Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) and Zaccharie (Risacher) show that French basketball is great.鈥
France's Dominique Malonga, shooting the ball, was picked second in the WNBA draft on Monday in New York.
The Washington Mystics, with a new coach and general manager, then took Notre Dame's Sonia Citron with the third pick, and Southern Cal's Kiki Iriafen with No. 4. They also took Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore with the sixth pick. Amoore was dressed on the WNBA's orange carpet by NBA star Russell Westbrook, who has a clothing brand called Honor The Gift. Amoore said Westbrook designed her outfit and was amazing to work with since they first got together on a Zoom session last November.
鈥淚t鈥檚 phenomenal. He did such a good job,鈥 Amoore said of Westbrook. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just to put his name on something. He spent hours at the hotel fitting it ... He鈥檚 been very active in the process. To have a contact like that now, someone I can lean on or into is amazing. It鈥檚 the start. You鈥檒l see this happen more often. It鈥檚 a blessing to be the first one to do this.鈥
The expansion Golden State Valkyries made Juste Jocyte of Lithuania with the first draft choice in franchise history.
Connecticut had consecutive picks and took LSU's Aneesah Morrow seventh and N.C. State's Saniya Rivers eighth.
Los Angeles took Alabama's Sarah Ashlee Barker ninth. Chicago drafted Ajsa Sivka from Slovenia 10th, and then TCU's Hailey Van Lith next.
Dallas closed out the first round drafting Aziah James of N.C. State.
Six teams didn鈥檛 have picks in the opening round as New York, Indiana, Minnesota, Phoenix and Atlanta traded away their picks. Las Vegas forfeited its pick following an investigation by the league in 2023 that found the franchise violated league rules regarding impermissible player benefits and workplace policies.
The 5 biggest draft busts in NBA history
The 5 biggest draft busts in NBA history
The NBA draft is one of the most important processes in building a team. Championship contenders can find their missing piece or a diamond in the rough, while lesser teams may secure a cornerstone player for the future. Scouts and teams must attend the draft combine, interviews, and workouts, and they also study, film, and watch games to get a grasp on what attributes these prospects bring to the table.
While selecting the right player in the draft could speed up a team's championship timeline, picking the wrong player could set a franchise back significantly. For example, in the 1984 draft, was chosen as the first overall pick by the Houston Rockets, was the second pick by the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Chicago Bulls selected with the third pick.
Olajuwon retired as a two-time champion and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Bowie's career was plagued by injuries, and his only accolade was an All-Rookie team nod. Jordan retired as a six-time champion and five-time Most Valuable Player and is widely recognized as the best player to ever enter the game. This predicament alone shows the importance of drafting the right player.
compiled a ranking of the five biggest draft busts in NBA history using data. Players were ranked according to the sum of their career and career , or VORP, two commonly used approximations of player value. For players who predated the start of VORP in 1973, career win shares were used. Only the top five picks who played at least one NBA game and are no longer active in the league were considered.
#5. Chris Washburn
- Draft year: 1986 (3rd overall pick)
- Career averages (per game): 3.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.3 assists
- Games played: 72
- Player value score: -1.5 (win shares: -0.6, VORP: -0.9)
played center at North Carolina State University and was a dominant force, averaging 17.6 points per game as a sophomore. Washburn was drafted by the Golden State Warriors before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in his second season.
He appeared in just 72 games and was , of the league's drug program. Not even a year later, Washburn from the NBA after a third infraction.
Players such as , who was picked eighth, and , the third selection in the second round, were in the same draft and went on to have illustrious careers.
#4. Nikoloz Tskitishvili
- Draft year: 2002 (5th overall pick)
- Career averages (per game): 2.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists
- Games played: 172
- Player value score: -3.6 (win shares: -1.6, VORP: -2)
caught the eyes of NBA teams by showcasing his ability to stretch the floor and shoot the ball as a 7-footer in the Italian league and for the Georgia national team. He was selected by the Denver Nuggets and played 16.3 minutes per game as a rookie, but he never reached half that mark again.
Tskitishvili was traded to the Warriors during his third season before short stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns.
Tskitishvili's skill set never translated to the NBA, and he was out of the league by age 23. Over the next five years, he played for teams in Spain, Italy, and Greece and followed a 2015 flirtation with the NBA by heading back overseas.
Six-time All-Star was chosen by the Suns just four picks after Tskitishvili's selection in 2002.
#3. Adam Morrison
- Draft year: 2006 (3rd overall pick)
- Career averages (per game): 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists
- Games played: 161
- Player value score: -3.8 (win shares: -1.4, VORP: -2.4)
was one of the best players to ever come out of Gonzaga. He averaged a jaw-dropping 28.1 points per game as a junior and was drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats.
Morrison had a solid first season, finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year Award voting. But he tore his left ACL in the 2007-08 preseason and missed the campaign, and then the Bobcats traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009.
Morrison was never known for having , so the knee injury was a major setback. His last NBA season came in 2009-10, and then he played in Serbia and Turkey before a failed comeback attempt.
In the 2006 draft, both and were selected in the eight picks after Morrison.
#2. Josh Jackson
- Draft year: 2017 (4th overall pick)
- Career averages (per game): 11.3 points, 4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
- Games played: 291
- Player value score: -4.8 (win shares: -1.7, VORP: -3.1)
After a stellar first season at the University of Kansas, was selected in the draft by Phoenix. A solid scorer in college, he continued that trend during his first NBA season, making the All-Rookie second team and finishing with 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game.
Jackson was unexpectedly traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2019 following a disappointing second season, and he was assigned to the G League. He upon his return to the NBA, but he played only two more seasons.
The 2017 draft was one of the best classes in recent history, featuring All-Stars such as , , and , plus a host of other productive players who were also selected after Jackson.
#1. Michael Olowokandi
- Draft year: 1998 (1st overall pick)
- Career averages (per game): 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
- Games played: 500
- Player value score: -6 (win shares: 2.5, VORP: -8.5)
, who didn't play in an organized basketball game , was more than a standout at the University of the Pacific, averaging 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game in his final season. He was drafted first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers and earned a spot on the All-Rookie second team in 1998-99.
In 2001-02, he received for the league's Most Improved Player Award, but his career spiraled after injuries and a change of scenery via free agency. Over the next four seasons, he played for the Timberwolves and Boston Celtics but was a shell of himself.
His career averages aren't bad, but they are underwhelming for a #1 pick. His ability to stick around for nine seasons contributed by far the lowest VORP of the players considered for this list.
The 1998 draft is widely recognized as one of the best drafts of all time, as Hall of Famers , , and were selected in the top 10.
Story editing by Mike Taylor. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.
This story originally appeared on Sqore and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
