A Basketball Star Is Born

New York Times

13-04-2025

Last Sunday, the University of Connecticut basketball player Paige Bueckers achieved what she set out to do when she joined the team almost five years ago: Win an N.C.A.A. championship. After being sidelined by injuries for nearly two seasons, Ms. Bueckers, a 23-year-old point guard, led the Huskies to a blowout victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning UConn its 12th N.C.A.A. women's basketball title and becoming the school's top point scorer in the women's tournament in the process.
For some, the win would be a star-making moment. But Ms. Bueckers (pronounced BECK-ers) — whom the Dallas Wings are expected to select first overall in the 2025 W.N.B.A. draft on Monday — was already a star by then, both on and off the court.
In December, she became the first college athlete to have her own Nike player-edition shoe, the Paige Bueckers G.T. Hustle 3. She was also the first college athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal with Gatorade. According to on3 and SponsorUnited, both of which track sponsorship and other deals for college athletes, Ms. Bueckers is the third most valuable woman in college sports, has the second largest social media following and the highest engagement from her followers.
'It's so surreal,' Ms. Bueckers said of UConn's championship win in an interview on Wednesday. 'It hasn't really sunk in yet.' She was dressed in a lavender Nike sweatsuit, and her long vanilla-blond hair was neatly cascading down her back. Earlier that day, she had been interviewed on the 'Today' show; later, Ms. Buckers would head to a taping of 'The Tonight Show' with Jimmy Fallon.
'It's like working on good fumes right now,' she said. 'You're so amped up and so excited based on what just happened.' She added that she did not want the attention she had received this season to overshadow the success of the Huskies as a team and of players like Sarah Strong, a freshman UConn forward who scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds in the final against South Carolina.
Ms. Bueckers's profile has risen amid a significant era for women's basketball. Last year's N.C.A.A. women's tournament received more viewers than the men's tournament did, and the W.N.B.A's regular season in 2024 surged in viewership compared with previous years' audiences. The sport's growth has been driven in part by other star newcomers like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, but Ms. Bueckers's success has also stood out.
Nobody Beats Her 'Rizz'
Fans and former coaches alike say that is partly because of her 'rizz' — or charisma — a quality palpable in her on-court appearances. It is also evident in the TikTok videos of Ms. Bueckers and her teammates dancing, which often travel far and wide, and in her off-court style, which is the subject of dedicated fan accounts on Instagram.
Her confidence comes partly from her faith, Ms. Bueckers said on a video call in March, a couple weeks before the N.C.A.A. final. It was a rest day for the Huskies, and she had slept until 11 a.m. that morning. She had gone to a sauna and shot 100 free throws before the call; afterward, she had a massage appointment.
Ms. Bueckers, who grew up outside Minneapolis, described her faith as a major part of her identity, which has also been shaped by her family. Her parents, Amy Dettbarn and Bob Bueckers, divorced when she was a toddler, and Ms. Bueckers was raised mostly by her father. She has three half siblings, including a 12-year-old half brother, Drew, whose mother is Black. 'Drew doesn't leave her hip,' Mr. Bueckers said figuratively, adding that Ms. Bueckers had been a role model to all of her siblings.
Ms. Bueckers was raised Catholic but now attends a church that she characterized as nondenominational. Her faith, she explained, has helped her be more decisive. 'I know that whatever decision I'm going to make is going to be the right one, and it's going to turn out the right way,' she said.
Has Ms. Bueckers, who works with the stylist Brittany Hampton, decided on a look for Monday's W.N.B.A. draft? In fact, Ms. Hampton said, she is planning to wear several. 'Her draft day is her opulence moment,' the stylist said. 'It's going to be power dressing for sure.' Ms. Hampton, 36, said to expect 'liquid rhinestone cascades,' 'embellishments' and 'bold elegance.'
For last year's draft, which Ms. Bueckers attended as the guest of former UConn teammates, she wore a Louis Vuitton ensemble of a white vest, shirt and trousers. A TikTok video of her showing it off received comments including 'GIRL GOT DRIPPP,' 'The fit is GIVINGGG' and 'Paige A Whole Vibe.'
Those types of reactions are what Ms. Bueckers aims for with her style. 'It gets people thinking, like, 'What is this girl doing?'' she said. 'And that's what fashion is all about.'
She takes inspiration from W.N.B.A. players like Natasha Cloud, Kahleah Copper, and Sue Bird, who recently retired. 'They're all people who have their own sense of fashion, and they're not conformed to anything that society thinks they should be,' Ms. Bueckers said. 'They can wear heels one day, and loafers or sneakers the next.'
Being fluid like that is important to Ms. Bueckers, whose style has been covered by both Vogue and GQ. 'I want to be here, be there, be everywhere,' as she put it. 'Masculine, feminine, crop tops, baggy clothes. I don't want to put myself in a box.' Nor does she want others to. 'Why do women have to wear dresses?' she asked rhetorically. 'I can dress like a boy if I want to. What even is dressing like a boy?'
Ms. Bueckers's appetite for taking big fashion swings has a lot to do with her being 'crazy confident' and 'super swaggy,' Ms. Hampton said. When she is styling Ms. Bueckers, she added, her go-to brands include Gallery Department, Rhude, Nahmias and Acne Studios. Ms. Hampton has also introduced Ms. Bueckers to emerging designers, like Kwame Adusei in Los Angeles, and has helped her develop an appreciation for luxury labels — and for good tailors.
When Ms. Bueckers initially tried on the Louis Vuitton ensemble she wore to last year's W.N.B.A. draft, Ms. Hampton said, it had yet to be tailored. 'She sent me photos,' Ms. Hampton recalled. 'It was the funniest thing. It was just this massive suit. She looked like Steve Harvey in it.'
Smooth On and Off the Court
Connor Jordan, a college basketball fan, described Ms. Bueckers as having 'steez,' a term for people whose style telegraphs as effortless and innate. Ms. Jordan, a 30-year-old fly fishing guide in Driggs, Idaho, said Ms. Bueckers had a similar smoothness on the court. 'She's graceful to watch,' Ms. Jordan said.
Mark Bodin, another basketball follower, described Ms. Bueckers's style of play as team-oriented and less aggressive than some of her peers'. 'She doesn't antagonize,' he said. 'She doesn't taunt anybody.' Both are reasons 'she's so likable,' added Mr. Bodin, 62, who lives in Andover, Vt., and is the president of a regional bank.
Tara Starks, who coached Ms. Bueckers's Amateur Athletic Union basketball team, has known her since she was a young teen. She pointed to Ms. Bueckers's appearance at the 2021 ESPY Awards as a breakout moment off the court. After receiving the award for best college athlete in women's sports, Ms. Bueckers, then 19 and a sophomore at UConn, mentioned in her acceptance speech how Black female athletes were overlooked.
'They don't get the media coverage that they deserve,' she said onstage. 'They've given so much to the sport, the community and society as a whole, and their value is undeniable.' Ms. Starks, who is Black, said the speech demonstrated how 'special' Ms. Bueckers was and how she 'doesn't necessarily care about what you or anybody else thinks.'
Alyssa Williams, a 17-year-old high school basketball player in Nashville, remembered watching Ms. Bueckers at the ESPYs that night and, as a Black athlete, feeling seen. 'Sometimes, we do get overlooked, and for her to have the courage to speak up about that made me happy,' Ms. Williams said. 'I was like, 'Yeah, that's my Paige.''
Ms. Starks recalled another moment she observed Ms. Bueckers's confidence: At a barbecue in the backyard of Ms. Starks's home in Hopkins, Minn., when a 14-year-old Ms. Bueckers emphatically rapped every word of 'Dreams and Nightmares' by Meek Mill, along with Ms. Starks's daughter and their friends.
'Paige always thought she had more rhythm than anybody in the room,' Ms. Starks said. 'She always thought she was fresh, and that's what makes her unique.'