yardbarker
The UConn star Paige Bueckers did not get her physical transformation overnight.
Once nicknamed Olive Oyl after Popeyes stick-thin girlfriend by coach Brian Cosgriff during her high school days, she now flexes her muscles every chance she gets.
Bueckers could not stop praising her strength-and-conditioning coach, Andrea Hudy, for making her muscular.
She was candid about how she was not so keen about lifting weights after flexing her muscles during a photoshoot.
Despite how I look, I didnt always love the weight room, said Bueckers via Dallas Wings, a clip of which was shared by Just Womens Sports, 2 days ago.
The self-deprecating jab drew laughs, but it also underscored just how far Bueckers has come physically since her early days at UConn.
In the next slide of the Instagram post, she flexes her biceps for the photoshoot, showing her confidence in her gains.
When the American basketball player arrived at UConn as a freshman phenom in 2020, she did not think her skinny frame was a problem until she started taking contact from bigger, more physical college defenders.
Her willingness to poke fun at her old resistance to lifting only made the tribute land harder with fans who watched her transformation play out in real time.
Bigger college defenders were not the only reason Paige Bueckers started training in the weight room.
The turning point was her ACL injury and a fracture in the tibial plateau.
That injury forced her to take a hiatus during the 2022-2023 season.
She started an extended rehab process to reshape herself, and thats where her strength program actually took shape.
She credits her rehab to her coach, Andrea Hudy, who is the director of sports performance at UConn, and performance specialist Susan King Borchardt.
Bueckers gained around 15 pounds of functional muscle between her freshman year and her return year.
She started doing Pilates around four to five times a week to regain her core, hip, and leg mobility.
Monitoring nutrition and sleep also played a major role in her recovery.
She built a consistent sleep schedule and cut out all late- night snacks.
By the time she returned to the court, she looked unstoppable.
This continued into her WNBA career, where she was selected first overall by the Dallas Wings in 2025.
Her shoutout to a coach in that video went beyond a mere thank you.
What are your thoughts on Bueckers physique? More must-reads:.