1 week Ago By Rit Nanda
Minnesota Vikings had nothing but love for Paige Bueckers as she helped lead the UConn Huskies to the National Championship. The most successful program in women's college basketball had not won the big prize since 2016 and the projected WNBA draft first pick could have bowed out without that acclaim. However, after five years, she finally managed to bring it home in her final game for the program.
She cemented her legacy in UConn but the Vikings did not forget her primary affiliation. Before she became a star for the Huskies, she grew up in Minnesota and was a fan of the NFL franchise. They posted a picture of the star as a young girl wearing the famous purple jersey with a single word: Paige Bueckers is affectionately called Paige Buckets because of her ability on the basketball court and they followed it up with a trophy and a purple and gold heart underneath signifying the colors of the NFC North organization.
Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game! Paige Bueckers is riding a high now but she has had some difficult moments in her college career. She suffered a season-ending ACL injury that ruled her out of the 2022-23 season. She was also part of the Uconn Huskies team that lost in the National Championship final against South Carolina in 2022.
She exacted a measure of revenge with an 82-59 thrashing of the same opponents this year. And the Vikings held their counsel until she had secured her name on the trophy before posting her picture in their uniform. The franchise had posted the exact picture last year in support of their hometown star.
However, she and the Huskies did not succeed then, which was a bit of a dampener at the end of it. At that time, Minnesota had written, UConn's journey last season ended at Iowa's hands as Caitlin Clark took center stage in the semi-final. She would later be taken as the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft despite the Hawkeyes falling to South Carolina in the final.
Paige Bueckers is expected to follow the same path and become the first overall selection this year with the crucial difference being that she can leave college football behind having won the trophy that eluded her predecessor. Rit Nanda Rit Nanda is a sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 4 years of experience. A PhD holder, he is passionate about a host of sports, including NFL, CFL, Rugby Union, Rugby League, and Soccer.
He lives and breathes the Green Bay Packers, St Helens RFC, Harlequins, and Liverpool. Rit’s all-time favorite NFL players are Packers’ very own Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Lowe. Vince Lombardi, after whom the Super Bowl trophy is named is his favorite coach.
If he ever got his hands on a time machine, he would want to witness the Packers win Super Bowl I, and unsurprisingly, his most favorite Super Bowl is the XLV edition when the Packers beat the Pittsburg Steelers 31-25 to lift the trophy. Rit’s strengths are statistical analysis and historical deep dives, where he uses the learnings from his PhD to conduct thorough research. He verifies facts via multiple sources to maintain accuracy, and believes in being objective in his articles by adding stats wherever possible.
When not writing professionally, Rit spends time in creative writing, reading and travelling. Vikings Nation! Check out the latest M innesota Vikings Schedule and dive into the V ikings Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25..
