The WNBA just completed the 2025 season, and many are wondering who is the "New Face" of the next generation as the league ushers in a new era. While there are many enticing answers and choices to depict, Dallas Wings' mesmerizing rookie Paige Bueckers may have something to say about it. In the first part, we analyzed her historical record-breaking rookie season numerically.
However, understanding the hierarchy of a league requires more than just numerical data. Let's dive into the other qualities of what makes Bueckers uniquely special as the future of the WNBA.
Becoming the face of a sport requires more than just having an elite game on the field or court. People have to be able to resonate and gravitate toward you. They must be able to see you in commercials on their flat-screen televisions or on store shelves; this can even entice casual fans to learn about you and your personality.
Bueckers has numerous brand partnerships as one of the leading faces of the next generation of WNBA stars, as well as a strong sponsorship portfolio. Those partnerships include Nike, Gatorade, Verizon, and Dunkin', to name just a few. She was the first NIL-era college athlete to design a Nike shoe with her Paige Bueckers G.T. Hustle 3 sneakers.
“It’s definitely motivating to wear your own shoe,” Paige says. “I grew up wearing Nikes — all the signature shoes — so it’s surreal to have this Player Edition model. I just want to show out in it.”
Bueckers also became the first collegiate athlete to have ownership equity in the Unrivaled Basketball League, which grants owners a 10-15% stake. In November 2021, she also signed a deal with Gatorade, making her the first collegiate athlete ever to do so.
She has been featured in Nike commercials wearing her new sneakers, drinks Gatorade to stay hydrated, and is the head of CeraVe, a skincare brand that focuses on haircare. Bueckers has unlimited access to the marketing world, and she’s just getting started.
Paige Bueckers is a generational leader
In team sports, you must become a player. Unselfishness is required to achieve the ultimate goal: winning and competing for a championship. Bueckers has been praised throughout her career for being a positive teammate on and off the court. During her UConn days, there were numerous stories of leadership.
Whether that was waking up before dawn to cook breakfast for her Muslim teammate, Jana El Rafy, during Ramadan when she was fasting from sunrise to sunset, or flying to Florida to be with her teammate Caroline Ducharme as she underwent treatment for a significant head and neck injury.
For Bueckers, demonstrating selflessness is effortless, and when your top player exemplifies this, it positively impacts the entire team. She demonstrated the same traits at the WNBA level when.
After a loss to the Indiana Fever, she stuck up for her teammate Arike Ogunbowale, who had a poor shooting performance, and praised Ogunbowale's defensive effort during the game. A rookie sticking up for her teammate when the coach didn’t exemplifies a true leader.
After entering the WNBA with as much anticipated hype as any prospect in the league’s history, Bueckers has justified that and more with a record-breaking rookie campaign. Due to her elite all-around game, marketability, and gravitational pull as a leader and ultimate leader, she has all the tools and traits to become “The Face of the WNBA.”