MINNEAPOLIS – For Paige Bueckers, the kid who once begged her parents for every new jersey she saw in Dick’s Sporting Goods and spent hours reorganizing her bedroom closet to display signed basketballs like museum pieces, the news announced Thursday feels almost too perfect to be real.
The former UConn superstar and current Minnesota Lynx guard has signed an exclusive, multi-year partnership with Fanatics, the global leader in licensed sports merchandise. The deal makes Fanatics the sole provider of Bueckers’ official jerseys, apparel, autographed memorabilia, and trading cards moving forward, effectively turning the girl who used to trade recess time for a chance to flip through her older brother’s Allen Iverson rookie card binder into one of the most marketable off-court brands in women’s basketball.
“It’s honestly surreal,” Bueckers said Thursday afternoon, sitting courtside at Target Center in a still-wrapped Lynx jersey fresh off the Fanatics production line. “I was that annoying little sister who had every single jersey hung up with care, color-coded, tags still on half of them because I didn’t want to ruin them. And now kids are going to be doing that with mine? That’s wild.”
The partnership, sources say, is one of the richest name, image, and likeness-derived merchandise deals ever struck for a WNBA player still in her rookie contract window. While exact financial terms were not disclosed, industry insiders familiar with Fanatics’ athlete portfolio described it as “top-tier” for the women’s game, placing Bueckers in rare company alongside global icons like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, both of whom have their own high-profile apparel arrangements.
For Fanatics, the move is strategic. Bueckers has long been viewed as the bridge between the WNBA’s explosive new popularity and the collector culture that has historically skewed heavily male and NBA-centric. Her on-court flair, mixed with a social media savvy that feels native rather than manufactured, has produced viral moments (the behind-the-back dime against South Carolina, the “I belong” speech after the 2021 Final Four loss, the emotional return from ACL surgery) that translate directly into merchandise demand.
“Paige grew up as a collector herself,” said Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin in a statement. “She understands the emotional connection fans have to a jersey or a signed basketball. That authenticity is what separates good partnerships from great ones. She’s not just selling product; she’s curating an experience for the next generation of little girls who see themselves in her.”
The first wave of Bueckers-exclusive Fanatics product drops next month and already has collectors buzzing. Highlights include:
– A limited “Hopkins Royalty” edition Lynx jersey featuring gold embroidery commemorating her Minnesota high school roots
– Replica versions of the exact UConn warm-up jacket she wore during her 2021 National Player of the Year campaign
– A “Comeback SZN” autographed basketball line chronicling her 2024–25 return from injury
– Trading cards with on-card autographs and pieces of game-worn memorabilia embedded in the slabs
Perhaps most telling: Fanatics has already opened pre-orders, and the “Hopkins Royalty” jersey sold out its initial 5,000-unit run in under four hours Thursday night, crashing the women’s basketball section of their website temporarily.
Bueckers laughed when told about the crash. “I used to refresh pages for hours trying to snag a Kobe rookie jersey when I was 12,” she said. “Now I’m the reason the site’s down? That’s crazy.”
The deal also includes a creative component rare for athletes at this stage of their career. Bueckers will have direct input on designs, colorways, and even the unboxing experience for high-end memorabilia buyers. Early mock-ups shown to select media Thursday included a women’s-cut hoodie with subtle Easter eggs (the coordinates of Hopkins High School stitched inside the hood, the Bible verse Philippians 4:13 in Morse code along the drawstrings) that speak directly to her personal story.
“It’s not just about slapping my name on stuff,” Bueckers emphasized. “I want the kid who can’t afford the $400 authentic jersey to still feel like they’re part of something when they buy the $45 T-shirt. I was that kid. I remember saving up just to get the cheap replica because the real one was too much. Representation in price point matters.”
That mindset traces straight back to her childhood bedroom in Edina, Minnesota, where posters of Kevin Garnett and Maya Moore shared wall space and where her mom still keeps a plastic bin labeled “Paige’s Do Not Touch Collection” filled with items she refused to wear in public for fear of stains.
Her father, Bob Bueckers, recounted one story from when Paige was nine: she mowed lawns for six straight weekends to buy a game-worn Diana Taurasi jersey on eBay. When it arrived with a small rip near the hem, she cried for an hour, then spent the next week learning how to hand-stitch it herself rather than send it back.
“That jersey still hangs in her old room,” Bob said. “She’ll tell you it’s worth more now because of the imperfection. That’s who she is.”
For the Lynx organization, the partnership is another sign that drafting Bueckers No. 1 overall in 2025 was about more than just basketball. Head coach Cheryl Reeve, never one for hyperbole, allowed herself a small smile when asked about the deal.
“She gets it,” Reeve said. “This generation grew up watching the game differently, consuming it differently. Paige speaks their language. And now she’s giving them something tangible to hold onto.”
As Bueckers walked off the court Thursday, she paused to sign the very first official Fanatics-authenticated Lynx jersey for a young fan wearing a hand-me-down UConn T-shirt two sizes too big. The girl, maybe ten years old, clutched the jersey to her chest exactly the way Paige once did with her own treasures.