HOPKINS, Minn. — First-round draft pick Paige Bueckers is making her WNBA debut on Friday, and the city she played for in high school is celebrating in a big way. 

Hopkins is changing its name to Paige Bueckers, Minnesota, for the day on May 16, city officials said in a news release. Entrance signs on Excelsior Boulevard and Highway 7 will be changed to show the new name. The city will also change street signs along Main Street to Bueckers Boulevard.

Bueckers is playing her first regular-season game with the Dallas Wings against the Minnesota Lynx Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Dallas. 

It was when she played for Hopkins High School that Bueckers became a five-star recruit and the National Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2020. She was widely considered the best high school girls’ basketball player in the country and was the first female high school player to be on the cover of Slam Magazine. 

People saw her talent earlier than high school. KARE 11’s Gary Knox Tweeted in 2013 that she was the “Best 6th grade G I’ve ever seen.” 

Bueckers went on to play for the University of Connecticut, helping her team win the national title this past season. She was then drafted first overall to the Dallas Wings. 

Hopkins city leaders will hold a ribbon-cutting event Friday morning to celebrate the name change.