After Paige Bueckers had just completed the biggest win of her career, an 82-59 dismantling over South Carolina to claim UConn's 12th national championship in April of 2025, she took to the podium with a net draped around her neck and shared an anecdote with the assembled reporters. Her mother, Amy Fuller, had checked into a hotel room over the weekend with special significance. The number of that room was 824.
"Both of Kobe's numbers," Bueckers explained. "Kobe's watching over us."
Bryant has been an influence throughout Bueckers' life. She watched his games with her father as a child. Like others her age, she would shoot pieces of paper into a trash can, yelling "KOBE!" on makes. And after committing to UConn in high school, she got a follow on Instagram from one of her childhood heroes.
"I freaked out, this can’t be real," she told CBS Minnesota's Kate Raddatz of the moment back in 2020.
Kobe was an avid supporter of the women's game. His daughter, Gigi, was a talented prospect who loved UConn. The trio were scheduled to work out together before Kobe and Gigi were killed in a tragic helicopter crash in 2020.
Bueckers broke down in tears when she heard the news. She wore custom Kobe shoes to honor him during her next game. And she posted a tribute on social media.
As a young kid I aspired to be like you. I watched you play with no fear or remorse and it inspired me. You did so much for the women’s game and you truly cared. I play for you Kobe! pic.twitter.com/KGA2buSZzI
— Paige Bueckers (@paigebueckers1) January 26, 2020
Kobe's influence has continued to show up beyond that moment. Bueckers won the WNBA's Rookie of the Year award, turning in a wildly successful season. Look closely, and you could see shades of Bryant during that campaign.
Paige Bueckers shares Kobe Bryant's midrange mastery
Approaching a decade after his retirement and six years after his passing, Kobe's influence among basketball players is still massive. Ask those in the NBA who their favorite player is, and Kobe is the overwhelming answer. WNBA stars, from Diana Taurasi to Sabrina Ionescu, have described him as a mentor.
Many of today's players still study Bryant's moves. But the manner in which he scored is on the verge of extinction.
Kobe was one of the best midrange scorers that basketball has ever seen. A whopping 27.1 percent of his shots came from between 16 feet and the 3-point line, which made it his favorite zone to attack. The best stars still shoot from the midrange in order to balance out their game, but those deep 2's have largely been replaced by 3's.
Only three basketball players with at least 1000 minutes played took at least 20 percent of their shots from that Kobe range last season — DeMar DeRozan, Courtney Williams, and Bueckers.
With Williams and DeRozan on the wrong side of 30, Bueckers is the last player left in the NBA or WNBA who can carry Bryant's torch of midrange mastery. And among All-Star guards in both leagues, her shot diet most closely resembles the late Lakers star.
Kobe Bryant took 27 percent of his shots as long 2's over the course of his career.
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) September 23, 2025
Paige Bueckers is the last elite young guard who is still succeeding with that kind of shot diet: pic.twitter.com/7SiBwlqa8d
That midrange shooting makes Bueckers an impossible one-on-one cover. She was the most efficient isolation player in the league among the 49 WNBA players with at least 12 isolation possessions last season, via Synergy Sports.
Bueckers shot an astounding 64.3 percent from the field in those isolation situations, scoring 1.37 points per possession. That made her not only the WNBA's best isolation player last season but one of the best rookie isolation players ever.
| Player | FG % | Points per Poss. |
|---|---|---|
| Paige Bueckers | 64.3% | 1.37 |
| Caitlin Clark | 26.5% | 0.63 |
| Napheesa Collier | 42.9% | 0.90 |
| A'ja Wilson | 51.9% | 1.19 |
| Breanna Stewart | 30.0% | 0.94 |
| Maya Moore | 26.9% | 0.70 |
Bueckers has spoken in depth about how the midrange opens up the rest of her game.
"I think truly basketball has gotten away from it. It’s mostly layups and threes," Bueckers said after an August game against the Sparks. "It's really hard to guard. Teams don't know how to guard it and have counters for it. I think it's an advantage if you can score in the midrange."
Bueckers' isolation scoring is beautiful to witness. She freezes defenders with her tight handles, and she's had several breathtaking sequences that have created viral highlights.
Paige Bueckers has Kobe Bryant's footwork
Bueckers gets to her midrange shot in a variety of different ways. She uses gorgeous pump fakes, step-throughs, and spins that are reminiscent of the way Kobe used to free himself up.
Paige Bueckers is the closest thing that we have to Kobe in 2025 pic.twitter.com/oBnfvQpOaV
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) September 23, 2025
Nowhere was that more evident than in the best game of her season, a 44-point masterpiece set in the house that Kobe built. Several of her buckets in Crypto.com Arena came on sequences that looked straight out of Bryant's highlight package.
God decided to reincarnate Kobe Bryant into a white blonde girl from Minnesota pic.twitter.com/nEAFRVqd5b
— jay (@tampaburner_) August 21, 2025
Paige Bueckers has the Mamba Mentality
What took Kobe to the next level was his killer mentality. He took on every challenge, including coming back from a devastating Achilles injury at the age of 34. Bueckers leaned on that wisdom, reading Bryant's book while recovering from a torn ACL in 2022, as she told ESPN.
"When this injury first happened, I thought a lot about Kobe. I read The Mamba Mentality book and how he looked at his injury as another way to prove people wrong."
Bueckers missed UConn's entire 2022-23 season after that injury. A grueling year of rehab had her back on the court at her highest level. She went on to win a national championship, was selected with the first overall pick in the WNBA draft, came two votes away from winning a unanimous Rookie of the Year award and was named second-team All-WNBA by the Associated Press.
Bueckers has been compared to a lot of players. Some of the most common are Kyrie Irving, Diana Taurasi, and Caitlin Clark.
That variety of influences is reflected in the shoes she wears. She rotates between her own signature Nikes, Devin Booker's, Kyrie Irving's, Sabrina Ionescu's, and others during games. She told Champside about one other line that ranks among her favorites, and why that is.
"I love Kobe's," she said. "I love Kobe."