As the Phoenix Mercury prepared for their Wednesday matchup against the Dallas Wings, one of the big topics at hand was WNBA legend Diana Taurasi. Wednesday was Diana Taurasi’s birthday, as well as Wings’ rookie Paige Bueckers’ first career game against the Mercury.
Both UConn guards, Paige Bueckers spoke ahead of the Wings’ game against the Mercury about the influence that Diana Taurasi has had on her own career, as per ClutchPoints’ Mercury reporter Hayden Cilley.
“She was a winner at all stages, at all levels, she’s the all-time winningest Olympian as well,” Bueckers said. “Just her excellence that she carried on the court, she was unapologetically herself. She was a competitor. Some people hated it, some people love it, but she was not afraid to be who she was. And that’s truly inspiring to me. . .and just who she is as a person, I’ve always been able to reach out to her, she’s very receptive to that. So I’m just grateful for the relationship that we have built, and what she has built. . .”
Both Taurasi and Bueckers are considered among the very best in UConn Huskies program history. Both were No. 1 picks in the WNBA Draft after winning the national championship at UConn. But while Tarausi’s WNBA legacy is already stamped, Bueckers is just beginning.
Bueckers was set to return to the Wings’ lineup after being placed in concussion protocol, and then missing a couple of games after due to illness. As of publication, Bueckers had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 12 minutes in her return.
To start her rookie season, Bueckers had appeared in six games for the Wings at just about 30 minutes of play. She had been averaging 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 43.7 percent shooting from the field, 33.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 80.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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