Paige Madison Bueckers[1] (/ˈbɛkərz/ BEH-kərz; born October 20, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference.

In her first season at UConn, Bueckers became the first freshman to earn a major national women's college player of the year award, winning all four for which she was eligible.

Bueckers returned in the following season, being named a unanimous first-team All-American for a second time and leading the Huskies to the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA tournament.

Bueckers has won three gold medals with the United States at the youth international level, including at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where she was named Most Valuable Player.

[13] By that time, she was also playing year-round with North Tartan, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program competing in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, a national circuit.

[16] She joined Hopkins' varsity team in eighth grade under head coach Brian Cosgriff, averaging 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

[22] As a freshman, Bueckers averaged 20.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.1 assists per game, earning All-Metro first team honors from the Star Tribune.

[27] Bueckers helped Hopkins to a 28–4 record but suffered her third straight loss at the Class 4A state title game, despite leading all scorers with 37 points.

[30][31] On March 16, despite having an illness that had caused her to vomit earlier in the day, she recorded 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals as her team won the Class 4A state championship, 74–45, over Stillwater Area High School.

[37] That year, Bueckers moved to the Minnesota Metro Stars AAU program, following her former North Tartan coach Tara Starks.

[40] On January 29, 2020, during her senior season, Bueckers became the first female high school player to be featured on the cover of basketball magazine Slam.

[56][57] By eighth grade and age 14, she had received scholarship offers from NCAA Division I basketball programs at Minnesota, Iowa State and Illinois.

[60] Bueckers was drawn to UConn because she felt that head coach Geno Auriemma would maximize her talents, and because of the university's reputation and enthusiasm for women's basketball.

She also believed that she could immediately have a key role at UConn, with the expected graduation of point guard Crystal Dangerfield, and was attracted by its team-oriented play style.

On December 12, 2020, Bueckers made her collegiate debut for UConn, recording 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals in a 79–23 win over UMass Lowell.

[65][91][93][94] Bueckers was named to the university's dean's list her freshman year, which required a GPA of at least 3.72, and was involved in social justice causes.

[95][96] On April 30, 2021, Bueckers underwent surgery on her right ankle to repair an osteochondral defect, joint damage involving the bone and cartilage.

[104][105] On December 5, Bueckers injured her left knee while dribbling the ball up the court with 40 seconds remaining in a 73–54 victory over Notre Dame, and had to be carried off the floor by teammates.

[114] On March 28, at the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, Bueckers led her team to a 91–87 double-overtime win over top-seeded NC State, as UConn reached its 14th consecutive Final Four.

[116][117] In a 64–49 loss to top-seeded South Carolina at the national championship game,[118] Bueckers was the only UConn player to score in double digits as she posted 14 points and six rebounds, and was named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team.

[132] At the end of the regular season, Bueckers was named Big East Player of the Year and was a unanimous first-team all-conference selection.

[134] In the second round of the 2024 NCAA tournament, Bueckers tied her season-high of 32 points, while recording 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals, in a 72–64 win over Syracuse.

[145] At the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand in July, Bueckers averaged 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and a tournament-high 5.4 assists per game.

[148] In October 2018, Bueckers won a gold medal for the United States in 3x3 basketball at the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, helping her team win all seven of its games.

[149][150] She was the youngest member of the senior national team at the 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, on a roster featuring WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Jackie Young.

[161] Her pull-up jump shot has been described as her signature move, being likened to Sue Bird by UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey.

[160][162] Her playing style has drawn comparisons to Diana Taurasi, due to her size, confidence and scoring ability,[157][163] though Coach Auriemma has also mentioned a lot of similarities to her and Breanna Stewart.

[179][180][181] On April 4, 2022, her Instagram account reached one million followers,[182] making her reportedly the first women's college basketball player to achieve the mark.

[187][188] On February 7, 2022, she announced a partnership with Cash App, through which she launched the Paige Bueckers Foundation, aimed at promoting social justice and creating opportunities for families and children.

Working with the nonprofit branch of Chegg, she partnered with hunger relief company Goodr to host a free pop-up grocery market in Minneapolis to address food insecurity among college students.