When WNBA twitter went into a frenzy over No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd’s introductory press conference with the Dallas Wings earlier this week, Paige Bueckers was notably absent from the hullabaloo. Why was that? According to Bueckers’s Instagram, she appeared to be in Croatia supporting another former UConn teammate, Nika Mühl, ahead of the 2026 season.
Bueckers and Mühl were at UConn for four years together before Mühl got drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2024. Bueckers went pro a year later as the No. 1 pick by the Wings in 2025, but unfortunately, the two never got to play against each other since Mühl tore her left ACL before Bueckers’s rookie season. In 2026, another cruel twist of fate saw Mühl tear her right ACL while playing for Croatia in a EuroBasket qualifier this past offseason, and she’s now set to miss her second consecutive WNBA campaign.
