Bueckers joins pro athletes Bryson DeChambeau, CeeDee Lamb and Draymond Green, plus Santa Claus, in an ad for Dick's Sporting Goods.
Even Santa Claus recognizes Paige Bueckers’ greatness as her very busy year approaches the end.
In April, she and her UConn teammates celebrated an NCAA Tournament victory. Less than two weeks later, she was the No. 1 selection by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA draft. She averaged 19.2 points per game on her way to winning the league Rookie of the Year award. News came last week that she is going to star in a basketball-themed movie, “Jess and Pearl,” for Apple Original Films.
Her first star turn came this week, however, when Dick’s Sporting Goods featured the 24-year-old Bueckers and three other athletes in an adorable holiday commercial called “Santa’s Scouting Report.”
Bueckers is the first pro to approach Santa, sitting in his oversized velvet chair in a Dick’s store.
“Paige,” Santa says.
“In the flesh,” she responds.
“Rookie of the year,” he says, looking at his scorebook. “Nice list. Swish-mas came early.”
He hands her a beautiful box bearing a red Nike shirt, and she walks away, carrying her gift in one hand and taking a pretend shot with the other.
Next up? LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau. As he heads toward Santa, an elf bearing gifts runs into him, and DeChambeau – once known to be a bit tempestuous – was unfazed.
“Bryson, you kept your cool. Very nice,” Santa says as he gifts DeChambeau with a driver.
“Yes,” DeChambeau says excitedly.
CeeDee Lamb, the star wide receiver for the Cowboys, initially thinks Santa is going to relegate him to the naughty list, but all turns out OK. (Maybe Mr. Claus is a Dallas fan.)
“Breaking those DBs’ ankles is not very nice. but those routes sure are,” Santa tells him before he hands him some bright white Nike shoes.
Last up is Draymond Green, in his 14th season with the Golden State Warriors, who is known as one of the NBA’s bad boys. He does, after all, have 165 career technical fouls to his name, according to ESPN statistics.
In the commercial, Green peers from behind a wall, looking at Santa in anticipation.
“Maybe next year, Mr. Green,” Santa tells him as he puts another tally on the naughty side of the scoreboard. Green looks exasperated and asks, "Again?"
It sure was nice to see Bueckers and her fellow pros having some fun.
Related UConn Stories
GREAT START: UConn women squash Louisville in season opener between ranked teams. READ HERE
"WINNING EVERY DAY AT PRACTICE": UConn women readying for a long season ahead. READ HERE
FROM NEW YORK TO CROATIA TO STORRS: Five-star recruit Olivia Vukosa commits to UConn’s 2026 class. READ HERE
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Defending champ UConn sits atop women’s basketball preseason rankings. READ HERE
Join the Conversation
Remember to join our UCONN on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Huskies fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!