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Paige Bueckers surprised with custom Gatorade flavor after Wings' win vs. Valkyries

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz06/18/25NickSchultz_7
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers surprised with new Gatorade flavor
Courtesy of Gatorade

In a viral post on X (formerly Twitter) a year ago, Paige Bueckers shared one of her favorite drinks. She joked a “Shirley Temple hate to see me coming.”

Now starring for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA, Bueckers received a surprise following Tuesday’s win over the Golden State Valkyries. Gatorade had a custom Shirley Temple-flavored drink waiting for her in the press conference.

Gatorade had been secretly working on the drink, which was meant just for Bueckers. The former UConn star and No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, she’s off to a hot start to her professional career, averaging 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals.

In Tuesday night’s win over Golden State, Bueckers had a game-high 20 points. She also had four rebounds, four steals and two assists as part of the effort.

Bueckers’ partnership with Gatorade goes back to her days at UConn through an NIL deal. The two sides first joined forces in December 2021, just months after the NIL era began in college athletics, as she became the first college athlete to sign with the brand. The agreement is continuing into her professional career.

Paige Bueckers left her mark on college basketball

“Paige Buckets” became a trailblazer in the NIL space as she became one of the faces of women’s basketball and helped lead UConn to a national championship this past season after opting to return to Storrs for one more year. She put up some of the best numbers of her career, averaging 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals.

Off the court, Bueckers ended her college career with a $1.5 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranked tied for second with Flau’jae Johnson in the Women’s NIL 100. It also put her at No. 2 in the college women’s basketball NIL rankings and No. 58 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and de facto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

In addition to her NIL deal with Gatorade, Bueckers’ portfolio included partnerships with  State Farm and Ally. She also inked a landmark agreement with Nike, which led her to become the first college athlete to receive a player edition shoe, and secured a partnership with the new Unrivaled league founded by Breanna Stewart. Bueckers was one of the first to receive an equity stake in the league, followed by Johnson and JuJu Watkins, as she continued to blaze a trail in the space.