“What a finals”: UConn’s Paige Bueckers in awe of New York Liberty’s first WNBA Finals win over Lynx
UConn star Paige Bueckers was in awe after the New York Liberty clinched their first WNBA championship. The Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in a closely contested Game 5 of the Finals.
Bueckers, a projected top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, took to Instagram to express her excitement over the Liberty's historic victory. She reposted ESPN's championship graphic celebration post on her Instagram story.
"Wow what a finals," Paige captioned.
It was an exciting final series from Paige Bueckers' perspective. Her home state of Minnesota had a chance to win their fifth WNBA championship. However, the Liberty led by Breanna Stewart was a former UConn player who Bueckers admires.
New York was also a finalist last season but lost to the Las Vegas Aces.
Paige Bueckers praises WNBA ROY Caitlin Clark
Basketball fans missed the rivalry between UConn's Paige Bueckers and former Iowa star Caitlin Clark.
Bueckers did not declare for this year's WNBA draft and opted to return for her final college year with Connecticut, while Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever. In an interview, the senior guard gave her honest opinion about Clark and their longstanding rivalry.
"Caitlin's a competitor, she's a winner. She's a great basketball player, everybody sees it," Paige said [via Express]. "She does so much for the game. And she's the best scorer college basketball has ever seen. But I think she's so much more than a scorer."
"I think the best thing about her is her competitive spirit and her fire, her passion, her joy for the game," Bueckers added. "She wants to win. She has just intangibles of the game. She knows how to play, a great IQ. I think the biggest thing about her is she competes and she's just a winner. She wants to win at all costs"
Last season, Bueckers and Clark faced off in the NCAA women's Final Four, with Caitlin's Iowa squad getting away with a win against UConn to advance to the championship game.
In a previous meeting, during their freshman season, it was the Huskies who defeated the Hawkeyes in Sweet Sixteen.
With Paige Bueckers potentially being a top pick in the upcoming draft, there is a strong possibility she could join Angel Reese on the Chicago Sky. Clark defeated Reese to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year award.