For the second straight season, the Dallas Wings held the No. 1 overall pick. And for the second straight season, they have used that pick to select a former UConn Huskies superstar.
On Monday night, the Dallas Wings officially selected UConn star Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft.
“I’m not really sure I have words to describe that feeling what that meant,” Fudd said of getting drafted via ESPN.
“I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. It’s nothing I could have imagined. The feeling of sitting with my family, with [UConn assistant] Morgan [Valley], hearing your name called, go up there. Such a surreal feeling.”
Fudd will now reunite with former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers, who was the top overall pick by the Wings in last year’s WNBA Draft. Bueckers was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year and was a 2025 WNBA All-Star selection during her first season.
Needless to say, Fudd seems excited to reunite with her teammate.
“Paige is an incredible player, everyone knows that,” Fudd said. “She’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy.”
Fudd becomes the record seventh UConn player to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, joining Bueckers last season as well as Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011) and Breanna Stewart (2016).
Under the new WNBA collective bargaining agreement, Fudd will make nearly seven times what Bueckers earned last season as the top pick in the draft, as she is set for a $500,000 payday.
We’ll have to see how Fudd and Bueckers perform next year after they’re reunited.
About Dave Kelsey
Bets on sports stuff.