Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers expressed her excitement over the recovery of her former UConn teammate, Nika Muhl, from a career injury.
In a story on Instagram, Rookie of The Year Paige Bueckers shared a post that showed her excitement towards a huge development in the recovery of former UConn teammate Nika Muhl. Muhl was recently posted on social media doing actual basketball, following her long recovery process from her ACL injury.
“The Cookie Monster is backkkkkk,” Bueckers captioned her story.
Rookie guard Nika Muhl announced a major step in her comeback, as she edges back from a season‑ending knee injury. Muhl suffered a torn ACL last October while competing for Beşiktaş in the Turkish Basketball League and underwent surgery, which forced her to miss the entire 2024 WNBA season after being drafted by the Seattle Storm.
“Played my first 10 minutes after 355 days,” she wrote in her story. “All worth it. State of gratitude.”
At the same time, her ex-UConn teammate Paige Bueckers was named the 2025 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year following a record-breaking splash in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings, winning 70 of 72 first-place votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Buecklers started 36 of 36 games, averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds.
Paige Bueckers Gets Praise from NBA Legend
NBA legend Dwyane Wade lauded Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers following her WNBA Rookie of the Year season, calling her play “seamless” and saying he hopes to build a friendship with the young star as her career unfolds.
Wade pointed to a viral exchange with Kelsey Plum and Bueckers’s confident on-court demeanor as evidence of her readiness for stardom, describing the rookie’s style and swagger as reasons he became an instant fan.
“I don’t know Paige Bueckers, everybody,” Wade added. “I’m just a real big fan. But like she just looked cool to me, bro. Like, I want to be her friend. She just looked that kind of cool. It’s just the beginning of her pro career and all the awards that she’s going to be up for.”
Furthermore, Wade revealed that he believes Bueckers has the potential to become the greatest player of the WNBA.
“You know, just the way she played the game,” Wade said. “It’s seamless. It’s effortless. You know what I mean? And I just can’t wait to continue to watch the journey.”
Paige Bueckers won the league’s Rookie of the Year despite the Wings’ struggles in the standings, and Wade said he expects more awards and a bright future for the guard as she continues to develop in the WNBA.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
