When WNBA twitter went into a frenzy over No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd’s introductory press conference with the Dallas Wings earlier this week, Paige Bueckers was notably absent from the hullabaloo. Why was that? According to Bueckers’s Instagram, she appeared to be in Croatia supporting another former UConn teammate, Nika Mühl, ahead of the 2026 season.
Bueckers and Mühl were at UConn for four years together before Mühl got drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2024. Bueckers went pro a year later as the No. 1 pick by the Wings in 2025, but unfortunately, the two never got to play against each other since Mühl tore her left ACL before Bueckers’s rookie season. In 2026, another cruel twist of fate saw Mühl tear her right ACL while playing for Croatia in a EuroBasket qualifier this past offseason, and she’s now set to miss her second consecutive WNBA campaign.
Mühl, who has only played 16 games for the Storm in her pro career thus far, was picked by the Portland Fire in the expansion draft earlier this month, and she’ll hopefully be able to recover and stay healthy for the majority of her time there.
As the former Huskies guard continues to rehab her knee injury, Bueckers apparently took a flight to Croatia to help cheer her up. The reigning Rookie of the Year shared a sweet photo dump on Instagram of the two of them hanging out overseas and captioned the post: “A trip needed for the soul… can confirm they have sharks in the Croatian Sea.”
Nika flying from croatia to support paige at her draft. Paige flying to croatia to cheer nika up from her injury before the W season starts. oh to have a friendship like paige bueckers and nika mühl. pic.twitter.com/0CC3P37GAE
— ari (@5ari___) April 17, 2026
When Bueckers returns to Dallas to prepare for the 2026 season, she’ll likely face a slew of questions about reuniting with another ex-UConn teammate, Azzi Fudd, who was recently taken first overall by the Wings.
Why the Dallas Wings are the talk of the WNBA right now
Immediately after Wings selected Fudd with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, ESPN’s cameras panned to Bueckers (who was in attendance at Hudson Yards). Last year, Bueckers confirmed that she was dating Fudd in a now-viral interview at the 2025 WNBA draft, but the status of their relationship is currently unknown.
A Wings reporter tried to find that out during Fudd’s introductory press conference with the team on Thursday:
“Paige announced last year on TikTok that y’all were a couple, and I’m wondering if that’s still the case, and if so, if y’all have talked to any other couples in the league about how they negotiate that dynamic as pro teammates?” the Dallas Morning News’ Kevin Sherrington asked.
The Wings PR team sharply cut in to shut down the question, leading to an online firestorm of fans and pundits weighing in on what the right move was there.
For Fudd’s part, she has had nothing but complimentary things to say about her former Huskies teammate. “It’s so special,” Fudd said of getting to play with Bueckers again in an interview released Thursday night. “Here I am, no control where I get drafted, and I get to play with my best friend again.”
Bueckers echoed a similar sentiment when asked about the possibility of reuniting with Fudd in Dallas: “That would be exciting,” Bueckers said before the draft. “I don’t know all what I can say or what the future holds, but obviously we’ve had a lot of games together under our belt and we won a national championship together, so I think there’s great success in that. But I guess time will tell.”
Bueckers and Fudd have both battled through their respective knee injuries to make it to the pros, with Bueckers coming off an impressive debut season averaging 19.2 points and 5.4 assists en route to winning Rookie of the Year and earning her first All-Star nod. Following four up-and-down years at UConn, the pair’s chemistry on the court will be tested—and inevitably, questioned again—in 2026 and beyond.
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