UConn Legend Maya Moore Reveals Why She's 'Proud' of Paige Bueckers
On March 6, it was announced that UConn Huskies women's basketball star guard Paige Bueckers won the Big East Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season. This marks the third time Bueckers has won this prestigious award, with her other two wins coming in 2019 and 2024, respectively.
This made Bueckers the fourth player in Big East history to be a three-time Player of the Year Award winner. The most recent person in this extremely exclusive club is former UConn and WNBA legend Maya Moore, who did so in three consecutive seasons from 2008-11.
While Moore and Bueckers are equal in this regard, Moore will forever hold the advantage when it comes to NCAA National Championships, as she won two with the Huskies while Bueckers is seeking her first this season.
However, that didn't keep Moore from giving Bueckers her flowers during a March 6 appearance on SportsCenter.
"Yeah, Paige, man, I wish we could spend more time together, but life is so busy," Moore said when ESPN's Stan Verrett asked what motivates her to be "a phone call away" for Bueckers and other young players, per an X post from ESPN PR.
"But like she said, a phone call away. These players like Paige who started off her career knowing there's a bigger picture, right? I remember her at the ESPYs talking about honoring other people, and it's bigger than basketball," Moore continued.
"So I'm really proud of Paige for the way she has tried to speak and use her voice and care about things bigger than basketball. That's near and dear to my heart."
Late-night Thursday, basketball legend Maya Moore joins the 12a ET edition of @SportsCenter with @stanverrett on ESPN
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 7, 2025
Moore discusses being a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame, the growth of women's basketball, Diana Taurasi’s retirement & more pic.twitter.com/eAZpuNalRJ
Moore and Bueckers are cut from the same cloth when it comes to speaking and standing up for what they believe in, both on and off the court.
Recommended Reading:
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.
Follow GrvntYoung