“I was just the young kid looking up to the Minnesota Lynx dynasty and worshipping them,” Paige Bueckers said during her UConn days interview. In the WNBA, she didn’t get to play with the Lynx franchise and was selected by the Wings as a first-overall pick in the 2025 draft. But her wish to be part of the Minnesota team’s history could soon be fulfilled, as an opponent. Dallas Wings will play Minnesota Lynx on May 21, the team’s third regular-season game at the Lynx home court – the Target Center. And it could well be a home game for her…

Born and brought up in Hopkins, Minnesota, her debut game will be sort of her homecoming. It will be the first time after high school that she will play in Minnesota. The city already has big plans for Paige’s debut date – naming May 16 as ‘Paige Bueckers Day’ and the city also voted unanimously to rename Hopkins to “Paige Bueckers, Minn…,” for the day.

That’s not all. Ticket sales for the Lynx vs. Wings game featuring Paige are already complete. Now, if we do the math, Target Center has a capacity of around 18798, meaning the Former UConn star will have 18798 spectators on her hometown return.

And with such returns currently trending in the WNBA, here are a few notable homecomings for the WNBA stars. Angel Reese and HVL played against the Brazilian Side at LSU’s home court with fans welcoming their former stars. Their head coach, Kim Mulkey, welcomed them, and the images went viral. Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark also made news with her return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. And it was surely a home game for the Indiana Fever. The stadium was buzzing with CC playing her usual offensive game, unleashing her basketball magic on the court and capped it off with her ‘Logo 3’ too.

Impressively, CC’s homecoming had 14998 in attendance, generating $10 Mil from ticket sales only. Paige? She will have over 18K spectators as the Target Center in Minneapolis has a basketball capacity of 18,798. Paige achieved a small victory, as people regularly compared her to Caitlin Clark regarding their WNBA debuts. One thing to consider, though that Paige will make her WNBA return while CC plays in her college basketball arena. Nevertheless, both stars are crowd pullers, and that’s the biggest win for the league.

It’s the draw that players like Paige and CC have, bringing in more eyeballs to the league. But the league has been there since 1996, and now suddenly, nearly three decades later, why is it the most talked-about league?

Is Paige Bueckers’ ‘White Privilege’ claim really true?

Right from her college days, Paige Bueckers was an advocate of the ‘White Privilege’ ideology. She famously lamented the lack of coverage of Black women in sports, too, as she was on the podium accepting the 2021 ESPY Awards. She was recently in an interview with Time Magazine, where she once again put forward her views.

“There’s white privilege every single day that I see,” she said. “I feel like I’ve worked extremely hard, blessed by God. But I do think there’s more opportunities for me. I feel like even just marketability, people tend to favor white people, white males, white women.” Paige was one of the top earners with $ 1.4 million in NIL deals. But she consistently lauded fellow athletes’ performances and games at every opportunity.

“I think it should be equal opportunity. I feel like there is privilege to what I have, and to what all white people have,” Paige continued as she was determined to work on it. “I recognize that, I want to counteract that with the way I go about my business.” But Paige is not the only one who is speaking about it.

During an interview with ‘For The Win’s Meghan L. Hall earlier in October, the Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink echoed a similar sentiment. She is also one of the most followed athletes and has a variety of sponsorship deals. Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark also sides with Paige and Cameroon’s views. In CC’s interview with TIME last season, her remark was part of a broader conversation about the history of the WNBA. She added that Black women have historically been the majority of players and have made foundational contributions in the league.

Even last year, Caitlin credited other players for building the league while speaking on Netflix. “A lot of Black women that grew up making this league what it is. That’s kind of the shoulders that we stand on. So, I think that was something I’m very aware of and something I’m very thankful for.” CC said to David Letterman. The Fever star mentioned that the players deserve due credit for the league to make the league a success. 

While the league is reaching new highs with players like CC, Paige, Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese on the court, every player has benefited from the upward trajectory of the popularity.