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Fans Fantasize About Paige Bueckers After Major Valkyries Announcement

A recent announcement from the Golden State Valkyries has fans hoping about UConn star Paige Bueckers' future.
Grant Young|
Apr 5, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) dribbles the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Apr 5, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) dribbles the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The WNBA is expanding to 13 teams next season, as the Golden State Valkyries are slated to enter the league.

The Valkyries are a franchise that's owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who also own the Golden State Warriors, and will play at the Chase Center in San Francisco, where Steph Curry and the Warriors play their home games.

On Thursday, the Valkyries' X account announced their new practice facility in downtown Oakland that, "features over 30,000 square feet of space dedicated to training, development & performance."

In a subsequent X post, the Valkyries revealed their V-shaped locker room, which, "will feature a training room, player lounge, dining area, & coaches’ offices."

It's currently unknown what pick the Valkyries will have in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Although it will not be the No. 1 overall pick if the WNBA follows historical precedent, since no expansion franchise has ever been given a draft's first pick in their first season.

Therefore, it's highly unlikely that projected No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers will be playing for Golden State. However, that isn't stopping fans from fantasizing about her doing so on social media.

"paige’s future home looking real nice," X user @dubnaticn wrote in a reply to the Valkyries' announcement.

Another X user added, "I really wish Paige Bueckers could go here, its literally perfect, a brand new team with one of the best rookies, she’d have their stadium packed out almost every game, new practice facility, like it’s literally set up perfectly".

"@CathyEngelbert how you feel about giving paige a chance to be on this team ?" added a third fan.

Perhaps Engelbert and the WNBA league officials will change their precedent and award Golden State the 2025 Draft's top pick. Doing so would certainly cause a lot of excitement for the brand-new franchise.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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