What ought to be a season for a comeback to the hardwood turned into another major setback for a Seattle Storm player. And her latest announcement post has instantly caught the attention of the WNBA community, with several of her peers, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink, expressing heartfelt reactions.

Storm guard Nika Muhl recently took to Instagram to announce that she has suffered yet another ACL injury during a EuroBasket game for Croatia. Her injury to her right knee comes nearly a year after she tore her ACL in her left knee and missed the entire 2025 WNBA season. Now, the team has confirmed that Muhl has undergone surgery.

“October 2024 & March 2026. Shit happens twice, but so does the get back. Thank you for all the love 💘,” Muhl wrote in her Instagram post. “Two new and improved knees incoming 😝😝😝,” Bueckers commented, offering an optimistic note with a touch of sarcasm to turn the somber situation into a light-hearted moment. “Sending you so much love ❤️❤️❤️,” LA Sparks forward Cameron Brink wrote in reaction to Muhl’s disastrous news.

Nika Muhl and Paige Bueckers’ association goes back a long way, dating back to their time at Storrs. They played together for four years under Geno Auriemma. On court, they have won several conference championships together before Muhl bid goodbye to the program for the WNBA draft, just a season before Bueckers and the Huskies won the National title.

But for Muhl and Bueckers, the relationship goes beyond just the hardwood. More than teammates on the court, they’re like sisters who rally behind each other whenever the other is in need. Bueckers’ sarcastic comment on Muhl’s post already lends it weight. Furthermore, it was Bueckers’ mentality that led the Seattle Storm to select the point guard after her first ACL tear in 2025.

“Having in mind all of my previous teammates at UConn who have gone through this,” Muhl said in an interview last year. “Specifically, Paige, to see her go through it has shown me that I can do it too. When you are next to somebody every single day and you see them go through stuff like that, you get a different sense of appreciation for the game.”

It was during their UConn days in 2022 when Bueckers faced a rough ACL tear during a game in the 2022-23 season. It forced her to miss the entire season due to rehab. And as her teammate, Muhl watched this phase of Bueckers up close, she is now learning from that experience as Bueckers goes through a similar phase, while dealing with her own recovery.

On the other hand, Muhl and Brink also share a bond of camaraderie that traces back to 2024. It unfolded after Brink suffered an ACL tear during a game against the Connecticut Sun, limiting her game time in her rookie year. Subsequently, Muhl had dropped a message for Brink during this rough period. “Sending you love, you got this!” Muhl stated via Instagram.

While Muhl will be missing the entire 2026 season, Paige Bueckers will compete in her second season with the Dallas Wings. Bueckers and the Wings tip off their campaign against the Indiana Fever on May 9. In doing so, Bueckers will face a few challenges to address as she steps onto the backcourt for Dallas.

Paige Bueckers Prepares for a Healthy Season Herself After an Injury-Laden Rookie Year

While Bueckers’ rookie year at the Dallas Wings was highlighted by high-scoring plays and winning major awards like WNBA Rookie of the Year, it also came with an underlying downside: injury nemesis. The Wings guard faced a flurry of injuries in her first year, including a concussion in June that forced her to be off the court for three games.

On top of that, the Dallas Wings guard also suffered a calf injury in the latter stages, along with her knee and back issues in the middle part of the tournament. Although she played through this injury, scoring a career-high 35 points, these recurring injuries raised a serious question about whether Bueckers was struggling with the physicality of the pro circuit. But for Bueckers, it’s not a one-off instance as she has suffered from such woes throughout her collegiate career, too.

An ACL tear in the 2022-23 season and a meniscus tear in 2021 are some of the major struggles that have defined her five-year stay at the Storrs. Thus, it will be important for her not to let this major injury shadow her pro career. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how she fares with these challenges in their second season.

But the amount of basketball she plays on the court will pose a different challenge. Even in the offseason break, Bueckers continued her stay on the court with the 3-on-3 Unrivaled and then immediately with her endeavors for the USA National team. This non-stop basketball will, of course, take its toll on her.

But on a brighter side for the Wings fans, Bueckers has looked quite agile in her latest training sessions with the USA national team, and will be good to go, provided no other surprising challenges arise in May.