"I thought we were going to run out of oxygen": Paige Bueckers revealed the traumatic experience that marked her forever

P aige Bueckers has experienced plenty of unforgettable moments while representing the United States , from winning youth international championships to finally making her senior World Cup debut in Berlin.

But one of her earliest memories in a Team USA jersey has nothing to do with what happened on a basketball court.

Bueckers was just 15 years old when she traveled to Argentina in 2017 for the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship. The tournament became an important early chapter in her career, with the United States eventually winning gold.

Yet the trip also produced a frightening incident that stayed with Bueckers long after she returned home.

During a recent interview with USA Basketball, the Dallas Wings star recalled being trapped inside an elevator with a large group of her teammates. The elevator was designed for six people, but around a dozen players were inside when the situation suddenly went wrong.

“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 on YouTube.

“I was like, ‘we’re supposed to be going up.’ So, we got rescued, thankfully. But that was an interesting moment for sure.”

The incident was particularly difficult because Bueckers already considered herself “a little claustrophobic.”

What began as an ordinary elevator journey quickly became something much more frightening when the elevator stopped moving and the players were left waiting for help.

Bueckers said she and her teammates were trapped for somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes. Although the ordeal eventually ended safely, she acknowledged that 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 her interview.

The memory has apparently remained powerful enough that Bueckers still avoids elevators whenever possible. She described the experience as “traumatic,” illustrating how an otherwise relatively short incident can have a lasting impact.

From a frightening elevator ride to the biggest stage in international basketball

There is an ironic connection between that difficult 2017 trip and where Bueckers finds herself nearly a decade later.

The Argentina tournament represented the beginning of her journey with USA Basketball. Now she is representing the country at the senior FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, playing alongside some of the biggest names in the sport.

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.

Bueckers has already built an impressive international résumé. She won gold at the 2017 U16 Americas Championship, followed that with another gold medal at the 2018 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup and then helped the United States win the 2019 U19 Women's World Cup. She also represented Team USA in 3x3 basketball at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

She was named MVP of the 2019 U19 tournament and was 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 added. “It’s a dream come true, and you never want to take it for granted.”

Her performances have also demonstrated why she earned the opportunity. Bueckers averaged 10.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks through the group stage, according to the statistics provided in the supplied information.

FIBA's official player page also confirms her role in the tournament, including a 14-point performance in the opening victory over China.

The United States went unbeaten through its three group-stage games, beating 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.

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.

For Bueckers , though, 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.