Paige Bueckers Earns First USA Senior National Team Camp Invitation As Dallas Wings Star Continues Rapid Rise

Grant AfsethNovember 24, 2025November 24, 2025no comment

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers will take another major step in her accelerated professional development next month.

USA Basketball announced Monday that Bueckers is one of 18 players selected for the Women’s National Team training camp, scheduled for Dec. 12–14 at Duke University. The invitation places the 2025 No. 1 overall pick among the country’s top professional talents as the program begins early preparations for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup.

For Bueckers, it marks her senior national team camp debut — another milestone in what has quickly become a landmark year for the Dallas rookie. She is one of ten first-time invitees, joining Lauren Betts, Cameron Brink, Veronica Burton, Sonia Citron, Caitlin Clark, Kiki Iriafen, Rickea Jackson, Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins.

A New Stage for Dallas Wings’ Franchise Guard

The camp will blend USA Basketball mainstays with a wave of rising young talent. Bueckers and the other newcomers will work alongside several decorated veterans, including 2024 Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young. Dearica Hamby arrives after winning a 3×3 bronze medal in Paris, while Copper, Gray, and Brionna Jones add World Cup title experience.

Bueckers enters the camp after one of the most decorated rookie seasons in league history, earning All-WNBA Second Team honors — the only rookie selected — along with Rookie of the Year, AP Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie recognition. She averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.6 steals across 36 games, becoming the only player in the WNBA to rank top-nine in scoring, assists. and steals.

She set multiple franchise rookie records, posted the highest single-game scoring output ever by a rookie with a 44-point performance in Los Angeles, and became just the 10th rookie in league history to start a WNBA All-Star Game.

Her rapid rise in Dallas parallels a long-running USA Basketball résumé that stretches back nearly a decade.

A Deep USA Basketball Foundation

Before her All-WNBA rookie campaign, Bueckers built one of the most decorated youth and 3×3 careers in recent USA Basketball history. She helped the United States win four gold medals across multiple age-group and 3×3 competitions while emerging as a steadying floor general and late-game shot creator.

Her track record includes leading the 2017 U16 team to gold in Argentina, guiding the 2018 U17s to a world title in Belarus, and starring for the 2019 U19s in Thailand. In that tournament, she averaged a team-high 5.4 assists, delivered 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in the overtime gold-medal win over Australia, and was named tournament MVP and USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Bueckers also excelled in 3×3 competition, winning Youth Olympic gold in 2018 and becoming the youngest member of the U.S. senior 3×3 squad at the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games, where she averaged 6.5 points per game.

Across the 2017–19 five-on-five cycles, Bueckers helped the U.S. go undefeated in major FIBA tournaments, cementing her reputation as a high-IQ guard with a strong international pedigree.

USA Basketball Begins 2026 World Cup Preparations

Newly appointed senior national team head coach Kara Lawson will oversee the camp, assisted by Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries, Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts and Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White. USA Women’s National Team managing director Sue Bird will lead evaluations as the federation begins narrowing the field for the 2026 World Cup roster.

The tournament will take place Sept. 4–13, 2026, in Berlin, where the Americans will chase their fifth consecutive gold medal.

For Bueckers, the invitation represents the next step in a trajectory that has rarely paused since her teenage years — and an early chance to position herself among the program’s future leaders as the Wings continue to build around her franchise-cornerstone ascent.

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Grant Afseth

Senior Writer

Grant Afseth is a Senior Writer for DallasHoopsJournal.com, where he leads in-depth coverage of the Mavericks, Wings, and more. Between a focus on the latest news, closer looks at games, front office strategy, and more, Afseth provides objective coverage. Afseth contributes broader NBA coverage across platforms and has been cited in national outlets for his reporting and analysis. With nearly a decade of journalism experience, Afseth has covered the NBA and WNBA for multiple major outlets, including Athlon Sports, BallIsLife, Sportskeeda, and RG.org. He previously reported on the Indiana Pacers for CNHI’s Kokomo Tribune and the Mavericks for FanNation.

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Paige Bueckers Earns First USA Senior National Team Camp Invitation As Dallas Wings Star Continues Rapid Rise