The college superstar will stay for a fifth year in Connecticut, which will make her a coveted pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. And the Mystics look like a lottery team this season. Interesting.
Last Friday, Connecticut Huskies redshirt junior Paige Bueckers announced that she will stay for a fifth season in college, to the delight of Huskies fans in attendance for a game against the Georgetown Hoyas.
“Unfortunately this will not be my last Senior NIght”
PAIGE BUECKERS WILL RETURN TO STORRS NEXT YEAR! pic.twitter.com/0F9hS04Rof
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) February 17, 2024
Bueckers could have went pro after this season where she would have likely been a Top-3 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Bueckers’ decision could also have implications on the Washington Mystics’ future for 2025. Or maybe even 2026.
Because Bueckers missed the 2022-23 NCAA basketball season, she already was eligible for a fifth year of college eligibility. I’d imagine that she is on track to graduate with her bachelor’s degree this year (or get very close to it), so that’s certainly a good thing from head coach Geno Auriemma’s perspective.
Let’s say that Bueckers goes pro in 2025. If so, there’s a good chance that the Mystics will be a lottery team in the 2024 WNBA season. If they are able to get a top selection in the draft, they will be in prime position to draft the do-it-all guard who can play point or at the two.
But here’s a potential kicker: Bueckers COULD decide to delay going pro another year in 2024-25. That’s because she entered college in 2020-21 which was partially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Because of that, she is granted an additional year on TOP of her redshirt.
So if Bueckers is ultimately projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft and doesn’t want to play for the team that has the No. 1 pick, she could elect to stay in Storrs until the 2026 season.
Furthermore, the WNBA, even though it is growing, is still not as heavily followed as women’s college basketball. And most college stars’ power falls after their rookie year in the WNBA, unlike NBA stars who often see their profiles INCREASE.
In today’s era of NIL deals, Bueckers will get a fair amount of money from them and can elect to keep being a Big Lady on Campus and make well into the six figures from such deals. So she’s still able to cash in, even if the competition she plays against is not WNBA caliber. Furthermore, WNBA salaries aren’t that much and she According to Essentially Sports, Bueckers has approximately $640,000 worth in those. Not bad!
The Mystics are rebuilding in some form for the 2024 season. While we still could see them be relatively competitive this summer, let’s assume they are a lottery team instead. If so, given their proven front office led by General Manager Mike Thibault, could it be enough for Bueckers to go pro in 2025? Let us know in the comments below.