There was a lot of hype for Saturday’s showdown between the Indiana Fever and the Dallas Wings, which featured the last four No. 1 overall picks on the court at the same time. There was also a lot of excitement for Fudd’s WNBA debut, but it’s safe to say that debut was a bit underwhelming.
Saturday afternoon’s game featured all four of the most recent No. 1 overall picks, with the Fever’s Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark taking on Dallas’ Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. Before the game,
“It’s crazy,” Clark said in the lead-up to the game, via Mirror. “Actually, in that game, the last four No. 1 picks will be playing.
“So I don’t know how many times that’s ever happened. Obviously, with me and my teammate (Aliyah Boston), and then Azzi and Paige, so pretty cool dynamic, and I think it just speaks to the excitement of the players in our league,” Clark added.
“Obviously, the talent level that has been coming in, and I think it should be a really great game. We played in the preseason. Obviously, that’s completely different, but I expect our arena to be a really loud, fun environment.”
The game was also the WNBA debut for Fudd, the most recent No. 1 overall pick. Fudd’s debut game was historic, but not for the reasons she probably would have lived.
For starters, Fudd was not in the starting lineup for the game as the Wings went with Arike Ogunbowale and Odyssey Sims instead. Fudd was quick to come off the bench and played 18 minutes in the win, but she did not make much of an impression on the stat sheet.
In fact, Fudd finished the game with just three points on two shot attempts. This marks the fewest points a No. 1 overall pick has scored in her rookie debut in 20 WNBA seasons.
Obviously, it’s a long season and the Wings were able to win the game even despite Fudd’s low scoring total, winning the game by a score of 107-104, but it’s safe to say that the Wings would like to get more offensive production from the rookie as the season goes on.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.