Paige Bueckers is a beast, and not just because she can shoot threes like nobody’s business (they call her Paige Buckets for a reason). Paige Bueckers is a beast because, despite facing setback after setback, she’s somehow come back stronger every time. “I feel like the tough times have made me who I am and have built me in so many different ways,” the UConn senior guard tells Her Campus. “They’ve made me stronger mentally and physically.”
At 23, Bueckers’s face is on the cover of magazines, her jerseys are flying off of the shelves, and (thirsty) edits of her are flooding the FYPs of millions — and she’s seen them all. “A lot of my teammates send ’em to me like, ‘Bro, look at this,’” Bueckers says. “Them supporting me and taking their time to make those edits, it’s just another way for fans to show love.”
So yeah, Paige Bueckers is basically taking over the world. And she’s actually really chill about it.
The UConn women’s basketball star makes making history look easy both on and off the court: She’s a top prospect for the 2025 WNBA Draft, the first college basketball player to design her own Nike GT Hustle 3, the first NCAA athlete to receive an ownership stake in a professional sports league, and, most recently, she partnered up with Meta AI for the 2024 Summer Games. “I’m very blessed and very fortunate,” Bueckers says. “I have a huge platform, so that’s what grounds me and keeps me humble. But also just knowing how hard I’ve worked, it’s very rewarding.”
Working hard for Bueckers is much more than showing up to practice. In her college basketball career, Bueckers has had to sidestep — and charge — several obstacles. In December 2021, Bueckers sustained a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear in the final minutes of a match against Notre Dame. She returned a few months later, though, scoring eight points against the St. John’s Red Storm on Feb. 25, 2022. Buckers went on to lead the Huskies to the NCAA championship, where South Carolina defeated them for the title.
And while Bueckers had dreams of clinching the 2023 NCAA championship title, the universe had other plans. In August 2022, Bueckers tore her ACL while playing a round of pickup basketball, just weeks before the season was set to begin. “It definitely taught me to never take anything for granted,” Bueckers says. “I get to wake up every day and do what I love, and that’s play basketball. And when you have that taken away from you, it makes you never take it for granted again.”
Coming back from an injury takes a village. Throughout her career, Bueckers has been open about her love for her family, and how their support has empowered her to be the best she can be — mentally and physically. “They’ve helped me through a lot of dark times, and times when I just got out of surgery,” she says. “They were there in the hotel taking care of me and made me feel loved as Paige The Person, not just as Paige The Basketball Player. On my good days and my bad days, they never left my side and never stopped supporting me.”
Resilience and overcoming adversity has helped me build back, and maybe better, for sure.
Bueckers returned to UConn for the 2023-24 season and helped bring the team to the Final Four. Post-season, Bueckers was unanimously named a first-team All-American by all three organizations that award the honors — she was selected to the WBCA Coaches’ All-American team, and earned first-team All-American recognition from both the AP and the USBWA. “Resilience and overcoming adversity has helped me build back, and maybe better, for sure,” she says.
In 2024, Bueckers announced she would return to UConn for the 2024–25 season, despite being projected as a top three pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. “I know it could be my last season, so I just [want to] embrace that and just have so much fun,” Bueckers says. “I love playing at UConn. The environment, the fans who show up to every single game — it’s crazy.”
So, how is Bueckers spending the summer before heading back to campus? The obvious answer would be hitting the court, but this summer, Bueckers traded in the ball for… a bow and arrow. (And a badminton racket?) “I learned about archery and badminton in, like, 10 minutes [with Meta AI],” Bueckers says. “I’m definitely not at the level of the athletes competing in the Olympics, but getting to know a little bit more about the sports is awesome.”
In partnership with Meta AI, Bueckers used the feature to do research on the top training tips for a variety of sports. Bueckers says Meta AI can also be used to build fitness routines, meal plans, wellness rituals, and more. “There are so many ways you can use it, but for athletes especially, you [can incorporate a lot] into your routine,” Bueckers says. “For your wellness, you can [use it to] learn some meditation methods. It can help with stretching routines, such as upper body and lower body, too.”
Make no mistake, though — Bueckers isn’t abandoning the court for the archery range any time soon. As she gears up for what might be her final season at UConn, Bueckers’s main focus is to continue her growth — but to have some fun along the way. “I have nothing to sulk and be sad about, I just want to have fun with all my teammates and the coaching staff,” Bueckers says. “I want to soak in it and embrace it. I have so much gratitude to be able to be a part of something so amazing.”