Paige Bueckers Shares Why It's 'Surreal' For Her to Play Against Lynx in Season Opener

The Minnesota native makes her WNBA regular season debut on Friday.

Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the No. 1 pick by Dallas Wings. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It couldn't be more fitting for Paige Bueckers to play against the Minnesota Lynx in her first WNBA regular season game with the Dallas Wings on Friday.

Bueckers is from Hopkins, Minn., which is just west of the Twin Cities where the Lynx compete. She grew up being the "biggest fan" of the Lynx, and now she will make her WNBA debut against them in Dallas.

The No. 1 pick shared how "surreal" the feeling is to play against her favorite team from childhood.

"It's definitely full circle how I went to a lot of their games growing up, watching that dynasty play out, I was their biggest fan," Bueckers said on Tuesday, via Dallas Morning News' Myah Taylor. "Now I'm apart of a different organization playing against them, so it's very cool to experience. I don't take it for granted. ... It'll be really cool and fun and sort of surreal."

The Wings play the Minnesota Lynx on Friday in their season opener. Bueckers, who is from Minnesota, grew up rooting for the team and said playing them will be surreal.

“I was their biggest fan.” pic.twitter.com/YuoyMPaJW5

— Myah Taylor (@t_myah) May 13, 2025

Her home state of Minnesota still shows a lot of love to Bueckers, specifically her hometown of Hopkins. Despite the Wings facing the Lynx on Friday, Hopkins decided to rename their city to "Paige Bueckers" for the day and will celebrate the WNBA rookie all day.

The game on Friday in Dallas tips off a 7:30 p.m. ET.

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