By Ciara Lucas, C.P.T., R.R.C.A.
April 4, 2026
The desert air in Phoenix, Arizona hums a little louder during NCAA Women’s Final Four weekend. There’s heat, hype, and a whole lot of college basketball. And right in the center of it all is Paige Bueckers, who’s spent the last few years as one of the most recognizable faces in the sport. Last year the former University of Connecticut standout debuted in her WNBA rookie season on the Dallas Wings. Now on the other side of the NCAA, she’s bringing her confidence and pro-level insights to her former teammates.
This year’s tournament, though, didn’t end the way many expected. UConn’s upset loss against South Carolina on Friday ended the team’s winning streak—one game short of the championship game.
“Every single one of them has a bright future ahead of them and I know they’ll use that to make them better,” Bueckers tells SELF. “I’ve been there. I’ve lost. I came up short, and we just learn, grow and keep moving.”
Loss and disappointment is just part of the game, Bueckers explains. And for a team that ended their season with an exceptional 54-game winning streak and 38-1 record, Bueckers has no doubt this will only make her former teammates stronger.
“It makes you hungry for sure,” she says. “It makes you extra driven, extra motivated. And sometimes adversity is the best teacher.”
SELF caught up with Bueckers during the Final Four frenzy to talk about the tournament, life beyond basketball, and her WNBA season ahead.
SELF: Now that you’ve completed your rookie season in the WNBA, how has your approach to preparation—physically and mentally—evolved from your college days?
Paige Bueckers: I think definitely through injury, and to take nothing in life for granted. Every single day you wake up it’s a blessing. And it’s important not to have a sense of entitlement. It’s a tremendous honor to wake up and live out your dream playing basketball as your profession. So all of that, and just taking care of my body and being super disciplined in my habits for who I want to be every single day.
Last year, it was tough because I had to deal with not having a successful winning season, and being a part of a rebuild. It doesn’t happen overnight. I’ve learned to not be result-driven, and still be consistent and disciplined in who I am regardless of the results. I just have an unconditional joy and gratitude to show up with the same mentality and the same attitude whether we have a winning season or a losing season.
Looking back at your NCAA tournament experience, what’s one lesson or moment that’s stuck with you and still shapes how you show up today?
A core memory that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life is winning the national championship and that entire 2025 run. There was just a different vibe and aura about us, and a confidence that we really believed in each other, and we just really wanted to do it for each other. And that was just a really fun experience to be a part of.
The Women’s Final Four always brings a different level of energy—what advice would you give to players competing on that stage right now?
It’s so easy to get caught up in the hype, the pressure, anxiety and the nerves—but this is literally what you trained your whole entire life to do. You’re literally just doing what you’re born to do. And just remember that five year old at the park or in the gym, envision those moments of playing in March Madness, living out your dream. Be present and soak it up.
It’s super easy to get distracted by the stakes and the pressure of it, but just do what got you there. Enjoy it because this is what we work for, and this is what the people before us have worked for— to play in sold out WNBA and NBA arenas and play during the most fun time of the year.
It’s also important not to put too much value in the opinions of others. I’ve become confident in who I am and what I bring that nothing knocks me off that path. Stay invested in your teammates, lose yourself in that and you’ll forget about all the outside noise and distractions.
What are the non-negotiables that help you feel your most confident on and off the court?
Definitely my faith. I feel like all my confidence comes from my faith and then my work ethic. I feel much more confident when I know I’m prepared. and I know I put the work in, and I’ve earned what I’ve got. So between my faith and my work, I would say those two things.
I also love expressing myself in different ways through beauty and fashion, so people can understand I’m not just a basketball player. There’s other things I dabble in, like my first beauty partnership with Madison Reed. The founder, Amy Erritt, is a UConn alum, so it was an easy decision.
Madison Reed does a really good job of empowering women to be confident, to be their best selves, whatever that looks like for you. So they’ve done just a really good job in helping me find that creativity and find that confidence.
Off the court, how do you balance being an elite athlete with taking care of yourself?
It’s funny because I’m just a goofball off the court. I love hanging out with my friends, going out to eat, watching movies, watching shows, watching basketball, just kicking it. It’s so easy to lose yourself in basketball. Having a good village around me definitely helps.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.