UConn Huskies point guard Paige Bueckers is one of the most talented players of her age. And one of the best stories in basketball is her tight friendship with fellow Minnesota basketballers Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren.

It turns out that Minnesota is churning out elite level talent at a ridiculous rate. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft; Suggs, the No. 5 pick in 2021; and Bueckers, the 2021 national player of the year at UConn, all hail from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. What’s more, they’re all tight friends.

Holmgren and Suggs were teammates at Minnehaha Academy before each starred for one season with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Jalen Suggs and Paige Bueckers have known each other since fourth grade when Buecker’s brother played alongside Suggs in the youth team. Their friendship got so strong they became known as JalenPaige.

Are Paige and Suggs considered BFFs?

It was known in Minnesota, especially among students of Minneapolis-St. Paul, that Paige Bueckers and Jalen Suggs had legendary one-on-one pickup games. Whenever they started playing, the gym would fill up as students and teachers alike scrambled for space to watch the intense matchups.

Their frienship blossomed and continued even when Bueckers went off to the UConn Huskies while Jalen went off to the Gonzaga Bulldogs. In fact, before games, they would give each other pep talks. Jalen has said that it was a call with Bueckers before a regional final game against Southern California that settled him down.

“I’ve been kind of struggling, trying to get my footing in these tournament games,” Suggs said. “She kind of said some words – it kind of got me uplifted, got me going.”

 

They reportedly have never dated but, Paige Bueckers asked Jalen Suggs to be her date for the Sadie Hawkins Dance at Hopkins High, and he accepted. Suggs went to Bueckers’ basketball games and even celebrated championship wins with her in the locker room.

On the other hand, Bueckers would go to Suggs’ football games, a sport in which he excelled at as a quarterback. They have been there for each other throughout and built a fantastic platonic relationship through the years.

The similarities between them are too many to count. They were born four-and-a-half months apart and were in the same classes, played the same position and had the same values. They also both attended Steph Curry’s SC30 Select camp, being named Men and Women’s Most Outstanding Players.

Jalen’s cousin, Mia Curtis, who grew up with them, explained their similarities:

“They were like the male and female versions of each other. Certain interactions you’d have – I’d just walk away and be like, ‘Oh, my God. Was I talking to Paige or Jalen?’”
When the time comes, Bueckers is sure to get drafted in the WNBA, and meanwhile, Jalen Suggs is making his way in the NBA with the Orlando Magic.