Just over a week after leading UConn to an NCAA championship, Paige Bueckers is expected to be taken first overall by the Dallas Wings in Monday’s WNBA Draft. The three-round, 38-pick event will be held in New York, with the Seattle Storm picking second and the Washington Mystics holding the third, fourth, and sixth picks. The new Golden State Valkyries will select fifth.

Dallas, which finished last season 9-31, is positioned to pick first. Although Bueckers has avoided naming a preferred destination, saying she had “nowhere specific” in mind, Wings executives have openly signaled their intent to draft her. “If we draft Paige Bueckers, she will move the needle for the Dallas Wings and women’s basketball in north Texas,” team president Greg Bibb told the Dallas Morning News.

Bueckers also signed a three-year contract to join Unrivaled, an offseason league created by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. She leaves UConn having averaged 19.8 points per game with a 53 percent field goal rate and 42 percent from beyond the arc, capping her career with a long-awaited national title. Her path to the top pick was briefly derailed by injuries, including an ACL tear that sidelined her for the entire 2022–23 season.

While Bueckers is the presumed No. 1 pick, other top players like Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson, and UConn’s Azzi Fudd have announced they will stay in college another year. Their decisions may be linked to the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association’s opt-out of the current collective bargaining agreement. A new deal could raise media revenue and salaries for players entering the league in 2026.

The draft follows a breakout year for the WNBA. Boosted by rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the 2024 season saw record ratings. According to ESPN, viewership was up 170 percent, and the finals drew the league’s highest audience in 25 years.

Bueckers and her rookie class face a tight transition, with WNBA training camps opening April 27 and the regular season tipping off May 16. This season will be the longest in league history, with each team playing 44 games.