Geno Auriemma likely knew his star guard Paige Bueckers would be the first name off the board during Monday night's WNBA draft. But by the time the three-round draft concluded, he saw a couple more of his players hear their names called.
Just eight days after UConn won the national championship, the Huskies headed to New York City to support Bueckers as the Dallas Wings selected her with the No. 1 pick.
What a time for Paige Bueckers 👏 pic.twitter.com/ffHP9yz6YP
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 15, 2025
After Bueckers learned she was officially headed to Texas, she lobbied for some of her UConn teammates to be drafted after her.
"I think two teams or one team who would be genius to add Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin to their teams tonight," Bueckers said in an interview on the ESPN broadcast after she was picked Monday night. "So I think they should get drafted tonight."
The No. 1 pick must have had a crystal ball, because both Chen and Griffin got picked in the third round as they sat in the crowd amid Bueckers's UConn entourage. The WNBA's newest franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, picked Chen with the No. 30 pick in an awesome moment.
WHAT A MOMENT for former @UConnWBB PG 🥳
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 15, 2025
The audience erupts as Kaitlyn Chen hears her name called from the crowd
She's going to the @valkyries as the 30th overall pick in the WNBA Draft 🚨 pic.twitter.com/K8PV9XSBjF
Griffin's moment came shortly after as the Minnesota Lynx chose her with the No. 37 pick, one before the final selection in the 2025 draft.
Aubrey Griffin ➡️ Minnesota pic.twitter.com/grxNhikqHj
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) April 15, 2025
While neither Chen or Griffin were among the WNBA's official draft invitees, they got their moment to walk on stage, throw on the draft cap of their new teams and pose with commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Best of all, they were swarmed by their UConn teammates as soon as Engelbert announced their names. Not a bad ending to the night when you're watching from the crowd.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Two Former UConn Huskies Taken in WNBA Draft While Supporting Paige Bueckers.
