Lady Vols commits, Pauldo twins, inspiring on and off court
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BVM) – Identical twin sisters Mia and Mya Pauldo are committed to bringing a national championship back to the Tennessee women’s basketball program.
Along the way, the Pauldo twins are also committed to being inspirations on and off the court.
Mia and Mya are listed at 5-foot-5, tying them as the shortest players on ESPN’s top 100 rankings for the Class of 2025. Despite their shorter stature, they want to inspire other young girls to pick up a basketball, no matter their height.
“A lot of short girls might think, ‘I’m too little. I can’t really do as much as a tall girl can.’ And that’s not true – we’re proving them wrong,” Mya told The Players’ Tribune.
Mia is a five-star point guard ranked No. 13 in the 2025 class. In the last three seasons, she has totaled 1,640 points, 444 assists, 402 rebounds and 272 steals. As a junior, she averaged 19.9 points, 5.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 steals.
Mya is a four-star PG ranked No. 49 in the 2025 class. In the past three seasons, she has amassed 1,139 points, 374 assists, 311 rebounds and 231 steals.
Together, they led Morris Catholic (New Jersey) to a 29-1 record and a second straight Non-Public B state title as juniors.
Interestingly, the Pauldo twins – and self-proclaimed best friends – won’t lay claim to who the better sibling is.
“[On a 1-on-1], sometimes she’ll win, something I win,” Mya told The Players’ Tribune.
Mia added, “We both could guard each other – anybody in the world cannot guard us except for each other. She knows my moves, I know her moves.”
“Family first, and basketball runs in our blood” – is their motto.
Off the court, the Pauldo twins are focused on giving back to their community. Born in Paterson, New Jersey – a city known for its high poverty rate – the Pauldos use their NIL money to give back to surrounding areas.
Many may recall that Mia and Mya signed a massive NIL deal with Puma when they were just 15 years old. They are among the youngest in history – if not the youngest – to book a major shoe/apparel deal.
“When we got our NIL deal, we gained resources that we didn’t have before,” Mya told The Players’ Tribune. So we thought, ‘Why can’t we take advantage of that and start something new for girls in our area and urban communities and build on that and help them get opportunities that most players don’t have.’”
Mia and Mya were able to start their own AAU program, the Hurban Legends of Jersey. With their own NIL money, they bought gear, shoes and anything else that the players needed. Their only request was for the athletes to simply show up.
The sisters remain dedicated to giving back even more as their NIL brand grows. So far, they have an impressive 31,000 followers on their collective Instagram page, Twinbackcourt23. They even have a mini-reality series out with Overtime, which has garnered a collective 1.5 million views.
Most importantly, the Pauldos are feeling their impact.
“When we were younger, we grew [up around kids] wearing Pumas, and we’d be like, ‘What are those,’” Mia told The Players’ Tribune. “Now, it’s like, ‘Yo, that is dope.’ I see so many people wearing Pumas now (and) I feel like it’s because of us.”
Mia and Mya’s father, DJ, previously told On3, “I think, honestly, if you’re recruiting us and don’t mention NIL, you don’t really know who we are, right?”
It’s clear that Mia and Mya are winning both on and off the court. Someday, they hope to join the exclusive group of twins who have played in the WNBA.
“We’re a package deal,” the twins collectively said on the “Way Up With Angela Yee” podcast.
