No. 1 WNBA Draft pick Azzi Fudd is about to be reunited with her former UConn teammate, Paige Bueckers.
One year after the Dallas Wings took Bueckers, 24, with the top overall pick, the struggling franchise nabbed Fudd, 23, reuniting the once inseparable pair.
“I don’t think it’s fully sunk in,” Fudd told reporters at the Monday, April 13 draft. “I don’t really have words. It’s nothing I could have imagined, the feeling sitting there with my family, with [UConn assistant coach] Morgan [Valley], hearing your name called, being able to walk up there, it’s such a surreal feeling. I’m so grateful.”
Fudd and Bueckers spent four years as UConn teammates, winning the 2025 National Championship together and staying by each other’s sides as they both suffered devastating injuries during their college careers.
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After the Huskies’ championship run, they finally confirmed the long-standing rumors that they were dating, though the state of their relationship a year later remains unclear.
What is clear, however, is that the Wings have acquired elite draft night talent in consecutive seasons.
“I feel like there’s still so much left on the table,” Fudd said. “And so much unknown, just so much potential, not with just [Bueckers], but the entire Dallas Wings roster. I can’t wait, obviously, to play with her again but to play with every single one of them.”
Fudd also talked specifically about the benefits of playing alongside Bueckers.
“Paige is an incredible player, everyone knows that,” she said. “She’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy.”
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Two years after Bueckers went viral for her reaction to teammate Aaliyah Edwards being drafted, she again had a viral reaction when she heard Fudd’s name called. ESPN cameras caught her with a smile that drew comparisons to a proud parent as she sat and watched with her former Husky teammate.
Before her last college season, Fudd opened up about the possibility of reuniting with Bueckers — or of potentially becoming her WNBA rival if another team ended up drafting her.
“I definitely would love to play with her again; at the same time, I’d love to play against her,” she told Glamour in August 2025. “I think it’s kind of a win-win. There’s no bad option.”
She added, “Paige is the kind of teammate that everyone wants to play with because she’s so selfless. The way she plays, she gets everyone involved. She’s also just a great player, so she attracts so much attention that it makes it easier for everyone else to get good looks and opportunities on the court.”
The Wings will open preseason play on April 30 on the road against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
