Paige Bueckers Recalls Traumatic Elevator Incident From 2017 USA Basketball Debut
Long before Paige Bueckers made her senior FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup debut in Berlin, a frightening off-court moment during her first international trip left a lasting impression. The Dallas Wings star recently shared the story during an interview with USA Basketball, revealing how a routine elevator ride in Argentina became a claustrophobic ordeal she still remembers nearly a decade later.
Teenage Team USA Trip Turns Scary in Argentina
Bueckers was just 15 years old when she traveled to Argentina for the 2017 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship. The United States captured the gold medal, marking the beginning of her decorated international career. Yet the tournament also produced a harrowing memory unrelated to basketball.
During a recent USA Basketball YouTube interview, Bueckers recalled being trapped inside an elevator with roughly a dozen teammates. The elevator was rated for only six people.
“It was like 12 of us packed into a six-person elevator. We clicked up to go to level three or something. We started going down,”
Bueckers told USA Basketball.
“I was like, ‘we’re supposed to be going up.’ So, we got rescued, thankfully. But that was an interesting moment for sure.”
Claustrophobia and Panic During the Ordeal
The incident was especially difficult because Bueckers already considered herself “a little claustrophobic.” After the elevator began descending instead of ascending, it stopped completely, leaving the players waiting for help.
Bueckers said she and her teammates were trapped for between 10 and 15 minutes. Although the ordeal ended safely, she acknowledged her thoughts began to spiral while they were stuck.
“We started going down. Then we got stuck. So, it wasn’t totally bad, but I thought we were going to run out of oxygen, so I almost had a panic attack,”
she added during the interview.
The memory remains powerful enough that Bueckers still avoids elevators whenever possible, describing the experience as “traumatic” and illustrating how a relatively brief incident can have a lasting psychological impact.
From U16 Gold to Senior World Cup Stage
There is an ironic connection between that difficult 2017 trip and Bueckers’ current role with the senior national team. The Argentina tournament represented the beginning of her journey with USA Basketball. Now she is representing the country at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, playing alongside some of the biggest names in the sport.
Fellow stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston were also part of Bueckers’ early USA Basketball journey, making her progression to the senior team an especially meaningful full-circle moment.
Impressive International Résumé
Bueckers has already built a remarkable international resume:
- Gold medal at the 2017 U16 Americas Championship
- Gold medal at the 2018 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup
- Gold medal at the 2019 U19 Women’s World Cup
- Represented Team USA in 3×3 basketball at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games
She was named MVP of the 2019 U19 tournament and subsequently selected as USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year. The senior World Cup, however, carries a different significance.
“As a basketball player, you feel like representing your country at the World Cup level, at the Olympic level, on the senior national team. That’s the highest honor you could have. So being one of 12 for the USA, to see that they see me as a fit and see that they think that I can contribute to winning basketball with the team, that means everything,”
Bueckers said.
“It’s a dream come true, and you never want to take it for granted.”
Strong World Cup Performance
Her performances have demonstrated why she earned the opportunity. Through the group stage, Bueckers averaged 10.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks, according to supplied statistics. FIBA’s official player page confirms her role, including a 14-point performance in the opening victory over China.
The United States went unbeaten through three group-stage games, defeating China, Italy, and Czechia. Bueckers contributed seven points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in the narrow 55-52 victory over Italy before the Americans finished group play with a 105-64 win over Czechia.
Title Defense Amid Challenges
Team USA remains one of the leading contenders for the title, but the path has not been completely straightforward. The Americans have faced competition capable of exposing weaknesses, while France and several other nations remain serious threats.
The absence of A’ja Wilson has also altered the dynamic for the reigning champions, who are attempting to extend the United States’ remarkable run of four consecutive World Cup gold medals.
A Journey Defined by Resilience
For Bueckers, simply reaching this stage represents another milestone in a journey that began with that teenage trip to Argentina. The gold medal from 2017 may have been the official prize, but the elevator incident became another lasting part of her story.
Nearly a decade later, Bueckers has gone from being a teenager experiencing a frightening moment in a cramped elevator to sharing the court with the world’s elite while wearing the USA jersey. And despite the difficult memory, she continues to embrace what representing her country means to her.
