The Dallas Wings selected Paige Bueckers as the No.1 overall pick in the WNBA draft on Monday.
Paige Bueckers was the only player the Dallas Wings wanted to select heading into Monday's WNBA draft.
And they got their wish, with the Wings selecting UConn star Bueckers as the No.1 overall pick.
Bueckers became the sixth player, and the first since Breanna Stewart in 2016, to be selected as the top pick in the same year as winning a national championship, after she left UConn to their first NCAA title in almost a decade.
The 23-year-old will now make her WNBA bow with the Wings.
"Very early on, it was Paige and Paige only," Wings general manager Curt Miller said.
"She's such a special player."
The Wings went 9-31 last season, but Miller is confident Bueckers will help them change course.
"What we've seen No. 1 picks do to franchises around the league, it is something truly special, the trajectory of your team, the momentum that it brings," Miller said.
"Paige will do it in her own way, and her efficiency, her unselfishness, her ability to take over when needed, I think you're going to see her really impact this franchise."
Bueckers is the sixth UConn player to be drafted as the top pick, and she joins an illustrious list, following in the footsteps of Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011) and Stewart (2016).
"The conversations [with the Wings] were brief, but just for them to know that I am coming in and wanting to give everything I have to that organization," Bueckers said.
"Dallas is a sports city, so I'm super excited for the support, the new wave of being there, being in a new city, being with a new team and conquering those challenges as a group.
"We've got great pieces, a great ownership, great GMs, great coaches. The entire organization from up to down, I'm extremely excited for it.
"You don't ever want to assume anything in life. Nothing is guaranteed, so for this moment to be here and it to actually happen, it's nerve-racking.
"You just have a level of excitement, nervousness, bittersweet feeling knowing that my journey at UConn is over but excited for the next one to begin.
"To be able to share that moment with the people sitting at my table and also the people not sitting at my table, they played a huge role in it."