UConn star Paige Bueckers reveals Diana Taurasi's unorthodox motivation

Paige Bueckers is following in a long line of UConn women's basketball stars, and reflected on the motivation the legendary Diana Taurasi once gave her off the court.

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers is recognized with head coach Geno Auriemma for her 2000 career points. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

UConn Huskies women's basketball star Paige Bueckers is one of the biggest names in college sports. The Huskies star burst onto the scene as a freshman and is back in the National Player of the Year contention after injuries plagued the middle of her college journey.

Bueckers is just the latest UConn star to come through the Geno Auriemma pipeline, following the likes of Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Rebecca Lobo, and the GOAT Diana Taurasi.

Following Taurasi's retirement from the WNBA, a fantastic piece on ESPN.com asked those who have had interactions with her throughout her career to share their favorite stories. Bueckers had a great one.

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Bueckers recalled an interaction with Taurasi at the 2022 Final Four.

She recalled Taurasi answering the question, "If you had to pick one college player to join your pickup team, who would you pick?" Instead of picking her UConn sister, Taurasi went with USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins.

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers and USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins on the court. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

When Bueckers jokingly confronted Taurasi about her answer, the Huskies legend revealed it was all for motivation.

"I saw the video and I was like, 'All right, bro, I see what you're doing. You picked JuJu over me. What's up with that? You told me you had my back, it was me over everybody,'" Buekcers recalled. "
And she was like, 'Yeah, dog, I just did that to motivate you. It's all motivation.'"

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Brilliant.

UConn Huskies guards Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd react after a basket against the Seton Hall Pirates. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

And it seems to have worked out just fine.

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In her most recent outing, a blowout win over Butler, Paige put up game-highs in points (23) and assists (10), while adding two rebounds. She left no doubt why she is one of the front-runners to win the National Player of the Year Award and the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

UConn women's basketball/Instagram

This season, Bueckers is averaging 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

UConn returns to the court on Thursday, February 27, against the No. 23 Creighton Bluejays. Tip-off at the XL Center in Hartford is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.

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