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Wings Coach and GM Were So Fired Up on the Phone With Paige Bueckers After No. 1 Pick

Dallas Wings general manager Curt Miller and coach Chris Koclanes were pumped speaking to Bueckers after she was selected with the top pick.
Blake Silverman|
No. 1 pick Bueckers FaceTimes with Wings GM Miller and coach Koclanes after the WNBA draft
No. 1 pick Bueckers FaceTimes with Wings GM Miller and coach Koclanes after the WNBA draft | Screengrab via the Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) on X/Twitter

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Dallas WingsUConn Huskies

The Dallas Wings made their long-awaited No. 1 pick official Monday night when they selected UConn Huskies star guard Paige Bueckers. All the way back in November, Wings executive vice president and general manager Curt Miller was stoked when he found out his team would select first in the 2025 draft as Bueckers sat at the top of every draft board.

Bueckers's WNBA landing spot was a poorly kept secret ever since the draft order became official, which the Wings acknowledged on social media when they alluded to the pick hours before the draft started. After the pick became official, Miller called Bueckers on FaceTime as he stood beside new Wings coach Chris Koclanes.

Miller and Koclanes were super pumped for their first phone call with the newest member of the team. "Paige! Let's go!" Miller exclaimed once Bueckers picked up the phone from the orange carpet at the WNBA draft in New York City.

Bueckers, the recent national champion, told her new coach and GM that she was "so excited" to join the Wings and get down to Dallas. And her new organization is certainly excited to have her, too.

Miller joined the Wings front office this offseason after he and the Los Angeles Sparks mutually decided to part ways after he spent the past two seasons as head coach. Koclanes was hired as Dallas's head coach in December after he most recently served as an assistant coach at USC. Before that, he spent eight seasons in the WNBA working on Miller's coaching staffs.

Now, the two reunite in Dallas and bring in the WNBA's newest young star to begin their tenure.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.

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