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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Kristen Wong

Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith Looked So Over It at Pre-WNBA Draft Festivities

Not everyone from the 2025 WNBA draft class was happy to wake up early and make the trip to the Empire State Building as part of the league's pre-draft festivities on Monday.

Paige Bueckers and Hailey Van Lith were a few high-profile names invited to the draft at New York City on Monday night, but first, they along with other top prospects were roped into a field trip to one of NYC's most notable landmarks.

Bueckers, Van Lith and the rest of the 16 draft invitees were all smiles in their group photos on social media—except for one odd TikTok video that stood out from the rest.

Van Lith, who just capped off an Elite Eight run with TCU in the women's NCAA tournament, appeared to have a very distressed expression on her face while standing at the top of the building. One might even call it a death stare of sorts.

Maybe the TCU guard woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Bueckers, too, was smiling at the camera but looked a bit tired and worn out from what was probably a busy jam-packed afternoon. She also clearly was not too pleased being that high up in the air, as was Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers.

Van Lith's day could get exponentially better Monday night, as many mocks have her getting selected in the first round. Bueckers, seldom seen without the basketball net from her first national championship win with UConn, will likely get taken as the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings.

The WNBA draft will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.


More WNBA on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith Looked So Over It at Pre-WNBA Draft Festivities.

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