Q&A: Chris Paul gives Paige Bueckers sage advice for Year 2

For NBA legend Chris Paul and WNBA star Paige Bueckers, game recognizes game.

Paul is a 20-year NBA veteran whose career at the professional level has been marked by rewriting history books and accumulating accolades. During his career, which spans seven franchises, Paul has earned 12 NBA All-Star nods, 11 total All-NBA Team selections, and a Rookie of the Year award. He also led the league in assists for five seasons and steals a whopping six times. Bueckers, just finished her rookie year in the WNBA and has already ripped pages out of history books, too. Following her first season as a pro, she walked away with an All-Star selection, an All-WNBA Second Team nod, and a Rookie of the Year trophy. She was also top 10 in the WNBA in points, assists and steals per game, with her points and assists averages landing her among the best rookies in league history.

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Ballers typically recognize and want to connect with other ballers. So, it makes perfect sense that Bueckers recently joined Paul’s snack brand Good Eat’n as an equity partner. It’s the first time a WNBA player is taking an equity stake in an NBA player’s food business. As part of the deal, the Dallas Wings guard launched a new snack called “Ragerz”. Paul told For The Win he’s grateful for the chance to partner with Bueckers, but that it wasn’t the goal to be the first duo to create a deal of this kind.

“It’s all about connecting people, right? Connecting people and giving people an opportunity. The WNBA has been special to me,” Paul said. “Anything to support women and what they’re doing … It was like, [Bueckers] deserves it, right? She deserves it. The platform, the stage ― all these different things.”

For The Win recently sat down with Paul and Bueckers to discuss their one-of-a-kind partnership, the Wings securing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft and advice the NBA veteran would give the WNBA hooper as she heads into year two.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Why was it important for both of you to partner together?

Paul: I was a fan … I pay attention to culture. I pay attention to energy and the way ― you know that old saying, “You don’t always remember people, but you remember how they made you feel?” So I’m on social media, too. I see Paige showing up for people at different events, and I think she has been an amazing connector. She looks like she has fun while she’s doing all these things … I wanted to reach out to her and see if she wanted to be a part of our company, and that was honestly the premise. To be able to do the business and to get a chance to know her on a personal level has been dope.

Bueckers: Everything … I’m a fan first. I really live basketball, and I was telling him ever since I was young. The first sort of [touch point] was Lob City. So, 2K I’m playing with [Chris Paul] and Blake Griffin and all those people, and just watching and being a fan of basketball. Just loving the way he plays. But, to his point, who he is off the court, I’ve only heard great things about him. For me, learning how to become a leader ― a lot of his character traits and his attributes of holding people accountable, holding everybody around him to a high standard and wanting to be a part of a winning culture and not really caring.

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For me, it was about caring and valuing a lot of other people’s opinions rather than just caring about winning. So I think learning and watching him and how he leads and how he competes, and his longevity, too. That’s something I want for my career, to be able to have sustained excellence. I think there’s no better formula than him, and for him to want to invest in women’s sports and me. I thought it was a great moment and, to do it through a great tool like food. Food insecurity is a huge thing that I wanna address and be a part of my foundation and helping, giving back. So I thought this is a great opportunity.

Where did the “Ragerz” name come from, and what inspired it?

Bueckers: I’m like a little bit of a mild spice person. So I like the flavor. I like the spicy lime, the chili flavor. It’s like a little bit of “rage” in your mouth, and just like the spice, obviously … It was definitely a collab.

What advice would you give Paige in year two of her WNBA career?

Paul: It’s crazy to think about after my rookie year, I won Rookie of the Year, and I’m sure Paige can tell you, it’s a huge adjustment going from college to the pros cause everybody’s so elite. I think the biggest thing that I tried to focus on between my first and my second year is I definitely wanted to get stronger. I want to get stronger because the point guard position back then was Baron Davis trying to post me up every game, Gilbert Arenas trying to post me up every game. So, I wanted to get stronger. I watched a lot of film, just so the game could slow down for me. So, my advice would just be to continue to develop and work ethic ― what you already do ― but just keep watching, learn whatever the offense is as much as you can. You just get more confident the more you play.

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What were your instant thoughts seeing the Wings get another No. 1 draft pick?

Bueckers: Just a lot of excitement. Obviously, as a team and an organization, you don’t wanna continue to keep getting number one picks because that means you’re not winning. We want this to be a stride in the right direction and continue to keep getting better, have a great first pick, and then just continue to build off that. As good as it sounds, you don’t want to keep mounting No. 1 picks. It’s just exciting for the future.

If you could redo Paige’s “Paige Buckets” nickname, what would you give her?

Paul: [smiling] Oh, that’s easy. “Paige Ragerz”. That’s easy. No, it’s, it’s funny, man, cause when we shot this little spot commercial, we got a chance to spend a lot of time together that day. Paige, whether she knows it or not, she got like an old soul, you know what I mean? Even to hear her answer just now when you asked her that question, that was a great answer. You’ve been media trained and all that for a long time … I am older, so I’ve got a chance to watch and see clips of her when she was in high school.

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You get a chance to see people evolve, and what you learn in this world more than anything is, some people aren’t really ― what they say? “Never actually meet your heroes or people that you’re fans of?” So I’ve lived long enough now that I’ve met a lot of people that I’d be like, “Damn, I wish I never knew them.” But I can honestly say watching Paige and watching her play and watching her hoop and seeing her, and now getting a chance to know her, she did not disappoint. So, it’s dope, and the nickname [is] definitely “Paige Ragerz.” “[Paige] Buckets” works too because it’s so close to her name. So, that’s what it’s gonna stay.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Chris Paul gives Paige Bueckers sage advice, nickname in interview