Kevin Durant shows Paige Bueckers love as UConn Huskies talisman leads them past Gamecocks in National Championship

Kevin Durant shouts out Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd as UConn Huskies romp to National Championship win over Dawn Staley's Gamecocks.

Kevin Durant shows Paige Bueckers love as UConn Huskies talisman leads them past Gamecocks in National Championship

Kevin Durant, Paige Bueckers (Images via Instagram)

Defending national champions South Carolina Gamecocks found themselves staring down the barrel of defeat one game away from finishing a back-to-back this year. Paige Bueckers, who made the unconventional decision to play a fifth college year, is seeing her decision pay off big time. Bueckers and teammate Azzi Fudd have put the Gamecocks to the sword in the national championship final.

The Huskies are running away with the championship game, leading 82-54 at the time of writing. The team’s two-way excellence under Geno Auriemma has brought the team to the doorstep of another national championship win. While Auriemma is undoubtedly a focal point on the night, his seasoned players Fudd and Bueckers are also experiencing vindication.

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The backcourt duo of Fudd and Bueckers have a combined 41 points at the time of writing. Forward Sarah Strong has also established her dominance against the Gamecocks frontcourt with 22 points and a whopping 15 rebounds on the afternoon. Kevin Durant sat up and took notice of the Huskies’ all-round performance. The four-time NBA scoring champion put in a congratulatory tweet for the UConn stars.

Azzi is just surgical..Paige is just an all around monster….Sarah strong, my goodness, how did u get so good so early??? Great bump on espn

Kevin Durant tweeted

Sarah Strong, in particular, has stood out as a juggernaut on both ends of the floor. The freshman forward was instrumental in keeping every Gamecocks starter at single digits scoring for the game. The French-American post player, who just turned 19 a few months ago, will likely be the pride and joy of the Huskies program for a few more years.

Gamecocks guards Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao will definitely see their stock falling after their subpar performances. The duo was shown to be far from WNBA readiness by Fudd and Bueckers, whom they’ll be facing as professionals if they get drafted in a few weeks’ time.

Durant has always been a mentor for young basketball players, both male and female. The two-time NBA Finals MVP interviewed high school sensation AJ Dybantsa just this past week, ahead of the senior’s McDonald’s All-American game appearance.

WNBA Fans react to Paige Bueckers’ NCAA Tournament run

Paige Bueckers will finish the NCAA tournament averaging nearly 25 points per game during the postseason. The UConn guard has vindicated people’s faith in her, having been projected as a first overall WNBA pick for over a decade now. She will be able to enter the league with the ring that so many Huskies legends before her have earned.

The 23-year-old has been getting favorable shouts from all of basketball Twitter. Bueckers is likely to be selected by the Dallas Wings as a No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Bueckers finishes the 2025 NCAA tournament after making the Final Four every year that she been fully fit. She is currently third on the leaderboard of all-time point scorers at the March Madness postseason tournament.

If Bueckers does get selected by the Dallas Wings, she will join an organization in dire need of point guard play. While Arike Ogunbowale is undoubtedly the most lethal scorer in the women’s game today, the team requires Bueckers’ all-round skills to get back to championship contention after two seasons missing the playoffs.