Not many athletes get the chance to play 20 seasons in the WNBA, but the White Mamba, Diana Taurasi, was one of them! With the official announcement confirming that the WNBA legend has decided to hang up her boots, the basketball world is already buzzing about who could carry the torch next. And naturally, all eyes are on another UConn prodigy, Paige Bueckers. Can she follow in Taurasi’s footsteps and carve out a legendary career of her own?

People really started buzzing when Paige Bueckers hit her 2,158th career point against Seton Hall, officially cementing her name in UConn’s history by passing none other than Diana Taurasi for ninth on the all-time scoring list. That milestone sparked a wild debate, could Bueckers actually be a bigger UConn legend than DT? Sounds crazy, right?

Well, Greydy Diaz from Just Women’s Sports definitely isn’t buying into the hype! In the latest episode of the show, Diaz didn’t mince words when asked about the Paige-DT comparisons. She locked eyes with the camera and dropped one line, said, ” Ima look you into the camera right now and say you need a championship to be able to talk you s—, if you don’t have that chip you are not on that level.”

As simple as it gets. Diana Taurasi played four years at UConn. In her freshman year, they made it to the Final Four but lost to Notre Dame. After that loss, DT dropped one of the most iconic lines in college basketball history, “We will not lose another tournament game while I’m wearing this uniform.” And guess what? UConn went on to win three straight national titles and the White Mamba cemented herself as one of the greatest players in UConn.

Paige Bueckers is a great player, no doubt about it. But at UConn, just being great isn’t enough. The Huskies are all about winning titles. The closest Paige has come was in 2022 when they lost to South Carolina in the championship game, and last year, Iowa knocked them out in the Final Four. UConn doesn’t settle for “almost.” If Paige wants to be remembered as one of the best, she needs to bring that championship back to Storrs.

People can argue all day about whether Paige will ever surpass Diana as the bigger UConn legend, but one thing’s for sure, there’s nothing but respect between them. In fact, Paige was one of the first ones to congratulate DT on social media after she announced her retirement.

 Paige Bueckers thanks Diana Taurasi

The second the White Mamba called it a career, the basketball world erupted with tributes. And Paige? She wasted zero time showing love to the GOAT! She jumped on Instagram, reposted a graphic from the Phoenix Mercury’s social media team, and kept it short and sweet “Thank you 🐐.”

Paige isn’t getting caught up in the social media debates, she knows she’s nowhere near Taurasi’s level when it comes to being a UConn legend. But there’s only one thing on her mind right now– bringing the championship back to Storrs. The Huskies are locked in, hungry, and ready to end that title drought that’s been dragging on since 2016. While all eyes are on the big dance, they still have two regular-season games to go.

Their penultimate game of the regular season is against the second-placed team in the Big East, Creighton Bluejays at the XL Center on 28th February! Both teams are on a hot streak winning their last five games. Creighton has a 15-1 record in the Big East this season and could make the conference a lot more interesting if they manage to beat the Huskies. Auriemma will know this wont be an easy game and won’t let the concentration levels drop down!

Paige Bueckers has the talent, but to truly step out of Diana Taurasi’s shadow and become a UConn legend, she needs to deliver a championship. With the Big Dance on the horizon, all eyes are on Paige to bring the title back to Storrs and solidify her place in UConn history! Do you think the Huskies can do it this season? Let us know!