Within the past year, Paige Bueckers has expanded the scope of what it means to be a college athlete. She played in a Final Four but also became an equity partner in Unrivaled, designed her own player-edition sneaker for Nike and appeared courtside throughout the country at various sporting events.
In the new name, image and likeness age of college athletics, Bueckers has exerted unprecedented agency in her career and in building a brand for herself. What the budding superstar still can’t control is what comes next. Last month, the WNBA Draft lottery all but ensured that Bueckers’ next basketball stop will be with the Dallas Wings after they won the No. 1 pick.
For better or worse, that is the nature of the draft. Players have limited influence on their destination. They can choose to meet with or work out with certain teams and potentially withhold their medical records, but ultimately, teams hold the bulk of the power.
Bueckers, however, is in a rare situation where she wields more leverage thanks to her marketability, NIL portfolio and college eligibility. (She can return for a sixth season at UConn because of COVID-19 eligibility rules.) If she decides against playing for the Wings — and the buzz around the league is that Dallas was not her preferred destination —…
