Shemar Moore Surprises Superfan Paige Bueckers as She Smashes WNBA History with 44-Point Game

Paige Bueckers had a very special guest cheering her on as she made WNBA history.

The Dallas Wings star, 23, traveled to Los Angeles for her team’s Aug. 20 road game against the Sparks, where one of her favorite actors, Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore, cheered her on as she dropped 44 points — the league’s most-ever from a rookie. The previous record-holder was Candace Parker with 34 points.

The actor brought his daughter Frankie and her mother Jesiree Dizon to the game at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, where Bueckers posed for photos with the young girl and Moore after the game.

During their meeting, a very excited and surprised Bueckers told Moore, “You’re my favorite, bro,”

Earlier this summer, Bueckers revealed to Self that her dream celebrity guests at a Wings game would be Moore, 55, and Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo. Moore saw that Bueckers was a fan, and promised to come see her play.

“Ayyeee @paigebueckers 👀 I see you and I heard you Baby Girl!!!! You never know when your boy might show up and HOLLA your name at one of your games,” Moore wrote on July 21.

The Wings and Bueckers, who helped lead the UConn Huskies to the NCAA championship before she was drafted to the WNBA in April, ultimately came up short in a single-point loss to the Sparks on Thursday, but Bueckers’ impressive stat sheet made her the first player since 1968 to score 40 or more points in an NCAA Tournament game and a WNBA game in the same year.

 Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings
Paige Bueckers on July 9, 2025.Michael Reaves/Getty

Bueckers has had a whirlwind year since winning the NCAA championship in April. In addition to multiple campaigns with brands like Coach and Madison Reed, she’s furthering her campaign for the WNBA’s rookie of the year title since making the league’s All-Star team in July.

On top of all of that, Bueckers recently revealed she’s dating her former Huskies teammate Azzi Fudd. Speaking to PEOPLE in Indianapolis last month, she joked she “got set up” into revealing the relationship. “That was just a setup,” she joked, with a grin. “I didn’t even mean for that to happen, and here we are.”

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