Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers received her Rookie of the Year award at an unlikely location.
Bueckers, the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA draft, was named the 2025 Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, making her the seventh former UConn Huskies player to earn the honor.
On Tuesday morning, Bueckers took the runway for "The Jennifer Hudson Show," which is known for hyping guests moments before they go on air by having them walk down a tunnel with staff cheering on either side.
As Bueckers walked down the hallway, staff from the show sang "Paige Bueckers at J Hud, shooting buckets, she's the one."
Bueckers danced her way down the hall before doing a double take, realizing WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was present with Bueckers' Rookie of the Year hardware.
"Bet I'm the last person you thought you'd see on this cool spirit tunnel," Engelbert told Bueckers.
Engelbert presented Bueckers with the award before the staff erupted with a "rookie of the year" chant for the Wings star.
Bueckers is the 16th No. 1 overall pick to win the honor. Her 44 points against the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 20 set a single-game rookie scoring record.
Bueckers started in all 36 games for Dallas, where she averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
