Paige Bueckers has been in the headlines recently. She was drafted as the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings and signed a three-year contract with Unrivaled. Her three-year deal with the league is expected to be far more lucrative than her four-year WNBA rookie contract. The former UConn Guard will earn $78,831 in base salary as a Rookie, and $348,198 over her first four seasons in the WNBA. She is going to make $350,000 in her first year of Unrivaled. She will still thrive with Dallas alongside Arike Ogunbowale, who is a scoring threat. Let’s explore why she can transform Unrivaled when she plays in it next year.
Paige Bueckers Joining Unrivaled is Brilliant News
More Players Will Want To Be Involved
The Unrivaled League was a success on and off the court. Off the court, it averaged 221,000 viewers across the regular season and playoffs. On the court, some players, such as Bueckers’ former UConn teammate Aaliyah Edwards, made a name for themselves. The only downside is that some big names, such as A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Chennedy Carter, did not play in it. Luckily, next year, Bueckers will be involved in the competition. This is brilliant news as more players will want to play in the tournament next year if the quality of players improves. Players who did not play last year may be involved this year, as they have seen how the tournament works. Future superstars like Juju Watkins will want to compete in the tournament after seeing their peers play in it.
Paige Bueckers is an Incredible Player
Bueckers had a stellar college career. In her last year of college basketball, she averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. The 23-year-old stayed in college a year longer because of a torn ACL. She was gutted when her rival Juju Watkins got injured before the NCCA tournament, as she gets the best out of Bueckers. It is no surprise that she was drafted as the number one pick, as she has qualities that will translate well in the WNBA. She is a three-level scorer who can create for herself and others. There are similarities between her and Caitlin Clark, as both players were seen as generational draft picks. Don’t be surprised if some of the veterans try extra hard against her.
Viewing Figures Could Increase
The more good players involved in the competition, the more people will tune in to watch. This works in Unrivaled’s favor as there will be more spotlight on the competition. With more spotlight comes scrutiny. Scrutiny could improve the tournament as they will know what they could do to improve the competition. If they work to improve the competition, which results in more fans tuning in to watch them, they can generate revenue. The only issue with more good players competing would be if a star player gets hurt near the end of the tournament, and they would be forced to miss the start of their season with their team.
Photo credit: © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
