Paige Bueckers

Paige Madison Bueckers (born October 20, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference.

Nicknamed "Paige Buckets", Bueckers attended Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota and was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN, receiving national high school player of the year honors.

In her first season at UConn, Bueckers was a unanimous first-team All-American and became the first freshman to earn a major national women's college player of the year award, winning all four for which she was eligible.

She led UConn to the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA tournament and set program records for assists by a freshman and single-game assists.

Bueckers missed most of her sophomore season with a left knee injury but led her team to the national championship game.

She was ruled out for her junior season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Bueckers was born on October 20, 2001, in Edina, Minnesota, and grew up in neighboring St. Louis Park.

She started playing basketball at age five.

As a child, she also played Little League Baseball as a catcher, as well as football and soccer, but focused on basketball by first grade.

Bueckers became friends with National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jalen Suggs while in elementary school.

She was coached by her father in basketball until seventh grade.

Bueckers drew inspiration from NBA players LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird.

She grew up supporting the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.

In seventh grade, Bueckers played for the tenth-grade and junior varsity basketball teams at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka.

By that time, she was also playing year-round with North Tartan, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program competing in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, a national circuit.

Bueckers grew four inches in the year before her eighth-grade season.

She joined Hopkins' varsity team in eighth grade under head coach Brian Cosgriff, averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

She led her team in three-point shooting and ranked second in assists.

Hopkins finished with a 28–3 record and a runner-up finish at the Class 4A state tournament, where Bueckers was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Bueckers made her freshman season debut for Hopkins High School on November 25, 2016, recording 28 points, five steals and four assists in a 74–34 win over Osseo Senior High School.

That year, she assumed a more important role than in her eighth-grade season and became one of the team's leading scorers and passers.

As a freshman, Bueckers averaged 20.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.1 assists per game, earning All-Metro first team honors from the Star Tribune.

She led Hopkins to a 31–1 record, its only loss coming against Elk River High School at the Class 4A state championship.

Bueckers made the Class 4A All-Tournament Team.

In January 2018, as a sophomore, Bueckers was sidelined with an ankle injury that had been hurting her for the first two months of the season.

She finished the season averaging 22.3 points, 6.8 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Bueckers helped Hopkins to a 28–4 record but suffered her third straight loss at the Class 4A state title game, despite leading all scorers with 37 points.

She was named Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, becoming the first sophomore to win the award since its creation 34 years earlier.

Bueckers was also recognized as Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year for athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character.

Bueckers has won three gold medals with the United States at the youth international level, including at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where she was named Most Valuable Player.

She was a Youth Olympic gold medalist in 3x3 basketball and has played for the senior national 3x3 team.

Bueckers was recognized as USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 2019.

As a junior on February 1, 2019, Bueckers scored a career-high 43 points in a 69–66 win over Wayzata High School and surpassed 2,000 career points.

On March 16, despite having an illness that had caused her to vomit earlier in the day, she recorded 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals as her team won the Class 4A state championship, 74–45, over Stillwater Area High School.

Hopkins finished the season with a 32–0 record.

Bueckers averaged 24.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 4.6 steals per game, repeating as Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year.

She was one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Player of the Year award.

That year, Bueckers moved to the Minnesota Metro Stars AAU program, following her former North Tartan coach Tara Starks.

In August 2019, she was named AAU Player of the Year by Prep Girls Hoops.

On January 29, 2020, during her senior season, Bueckers became the first female high school player to be featured on the cover of basketball magazine Slam.