Paige Bueckers, who is coming off a national championship win with UConn, was drafted No. 1 overall to the Dallas Wings on Monday night.

The Wings clinched the first pick of the draft after an unsuccessful 9-31 season. Bueckers will join the squad alongside four other rookies and a new head coach. Chris Koclanes was hired by the Wings in December.

In Bueckers’ 2022-23 season, she suffered an ACL tear that kept her on the sidelines for the entire season. When her injury was nearly healed, she said to ESPN, “I want to be the type of player that I was before, pre-injury, but better.”

There was no doubt that the Dallas Wings were going to draft the UConn legend. The Wings’ General manager Curt Miller said in a press conference that there were no discussions of trading off the first pick from other teams, and the front office was set on securing Bueckers with the pick.

Many current Wings players took to social media after UConn’s national championship win to express their excitement for Bueckers to potentially, now officially, join their team. DiJontai Carrington commented under Bueckers’ post from the national championship and said, “congratssss tea**ate!!” blurring out the word “teammate” because the draft hadn’t occurred yet.

In her final season at UConn, she averaged 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. She shot over 50% from the field, 44% from three-point range.

Her versatility on the court makes her a valuable asset for the WNBA. The six-foot guard has the flexibility to play shooting or point guard and may claim the role of point guard as she matures in the league.

“We can put her on the ball, we can put her off the ball, and she’ll be just as good, just as efficient, just as effective, and, most importantly, just as willing,” Koclanes said to ESPN Monday night. “And I think that speaks to her unselfishness. I’m excited as a coach to be able to talk to her and find out what works.”