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Paige Bueckers Had Great Reaction When College Teammate Was Taken in WNBA Draft

Stephen Douglas

Paige Bueckers reacts to her college teammate getting drafted.
Paige Bueckers reacts to her college teammate getting drafted. / @WNB
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Paige Bueckers was the top pick in the WNBA draft on Monday night, but she was not the only UConn Huskies player taken. Her teammates Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin were both taken in the third round. Chen went No. 30 to the Golden State Valkyries and Griffin went No. 37 to the Minnesota Lynx.

When Chen's name was called Bueckers was signing autographs on the red carpet with cameras rolling. Bueckers heard her teammate's name and was thrilled shouting, "Let's go!"

Chen played three seasons at Stanford before transfering to UConn ahead of the 2024-2025 season. She started all 40 games for the Huskies during their run to the national championship. Chen averaged 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23 minutes a game.

Griffin averaged 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds a game during the '22-'23 season but tore her ACL half-way through the '23-'24 season. She played 16 games as a senior during the team's championship run.

Kaitlyn Chen, Paige Bueckers, Aubrey Griffin
Kaitlyn Chen, Paige Bueckers and Aubrey Griffin celebrate a trip to the Final Four. / James Snook-Imagn Images

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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