Key Takeaways

• Following a Dallas Wings win, Paige Bueckers addressed the absence of Black women in WNBA head coaching roles.
• She pointed to the prominent Black women in her life while calling for equal opportunity in league leadership.
• The discussion connects to her 2021 ESPYS speech, where she spoke about disparities in recognition and media coverage in women’s basketball.

Paige Bueckers is using her platform once again to advocate for Black women.

Following the Dallas Wings' win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday (July 12), Bueckers addressed the absence of Black women in WNBA head coaching positions, saying they helped build the league and deserve the same opportunities to lead from the sidelines.

Asked what she'd like to see when it comes to hiring Black women as head coaches, the star guard said her hope is simple. According to ESPN, she wants to see “equal opportunity and no discrimination based on what you look like, who you like, and anything of that nature.”

The Wings star went on to explain why the issue resonates with her personally. "I think Black women — specifically, I grew up with a lot of prominent Black women in my life that were very important to me in how I was raised and how I grew up, being my stepmom, my AAU coach," Bueckers said. "So I understand how amazing they are and how they should get the same equal opportunity as a white woman, as a white man to be an important piece of this league."

She then pointed to the league's history: "It was built on a lot of Black women — this league was — so it's definitely right for them to get the same equal opportunity as everyone else."

Bueckers' comments arrive at a time when the WNBA has no Black women serving as head coaches. ESPN reported that seven of the league's 15 current head coaches are women, but Noelle Quinn, whose contract with the Seattle Storm was not renewed last year, was the last Black woman to hold one of those positions.

Quinn, who later coached Bueckers in Unrivaled with Breeze BC, previously spoke about the lack of representation. "It's not by accident," she said, per ESPN. "I believe it's intentional... Representation is possible when leadership chooses to make it possible."

Paige Bueckers once used her 2021 ESPYS speech to honor Black women

Bueckers' recent remarks weren't the first time she has publicly spoken about representation in basketball. During the 2021 ESPYS, where she became the first freshman to win Best College Athlete, Women's Sports, the former UConn standout used her acceptance speech to call attention to the lack of recognition Black women receive despite their impact on the game.

"With the light that I have now as a white woman who leads a Black-led sport and celebrated here, I want to shed a light on Black women," Bueckers said. "They don't get the media coverage that they deserve. They've given so much to the sport, the community and society as a whole and their value is undeniable."

She continued by pointing to a disparity she believed deserved more attention, explaining, "In the WNBA last season, the postseason awards, 80% of the winners were Black, but they got half the amount of coverage as the white athletes, so I think it's time for change." The speech quickly gained traction online and was widely praised for using one of the biggest moments of her career to spotlight these types of issues in sports.

Now in her second WNBA season, the 24-year-old is again using that visibility to advocate for greater equity. The No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft is averaging 20.7 points and 6.3 assists for the Wings, who have won five straight games, and is set to make her second WNBA All-Star Game appearance later this month.