Azzi Fudd Notes 'Unknown' Aspect of Paige Bueckers Pairing
Perhaps the biggest storyline in basketball headed into the 2026 WNBA Draft was whether the Dallas Wings would reunite top prospect Azzi Fudd with Paige Bueckers, who Dallas took with the first pick last year. And that's exactly what Dallas did last night in taking Fudd No. 1 overall.
One part of this narrative was that Fudd and Bueckers have already proven they can succeed in the backcourt together, as evidenced by them winning the 2025 national championship. And that's absolutely true. But another interesting wrinkle that isn't discussed as much is that, despite Bueckers and Fudd being on UConn's roster for four seasons together, they really didn't play together that much.
The Wings' website said that Bueckers and Fudd played in 49 games together, the vast majority of which came in Bueckers' final season (when they won the national title). Before that point, Fudd only played in 42 games over her first three college seasons (including an ACL and a meniscus tear in November of 2023), and Bueckers also missed a whole year with a torn ACL in August of 2022.
Therefore, while Bueckers and Fudd have indeed proven that they can succeed together, it's reasonable to think there's still much more untapped potential in terms of on-court chemistry if they can string multiple healthy seasons.
Azzi Fudd Speaks on Potential of Paige Bueckers Pairing After WNBA Draft
Fudd spoke to this when addressing the media after the Wings selected her last night.
When asked to describe the unique chemistry she has on the court with Bueckers, Azzi said, "Yeah. I mean, Paige is an incredible player; everybody knows that. She's someone that makes playing basketball easy. And so I think just the prior experience, knowing how to play with her and play off of her, will only help going into this," per an X post from SNY.
Fudd then paused while trying the other thing she wanted to say before doing so and adding, "Our time at UConn, it was just full of injury—full of whether I was playing, she wasn't, [or] she was playing, I wasn't—it wasn't until last year that we really got a chance to play together. And even then, it wasn't a full season.
"So I really feel like there's so much left on the table, and so much unknown. Just so much potential with not just her, with the entire Dallas Wings roster. I can't wait, obviously, to play with her again, but to get to play with every single one of them," Fudd concluded.
"I feel like there's still so much left on the table and so much unknown - just so much potential - with not just her 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."
— UConn Women’s Basketball Videos (@SNYUConn) April 14, 2026
- Azzi Fudd on Paige Bueckers pic.twitter.com/OEq1hvx8vE
All eyes will be on Dallas to see what Fudd and Bueckers can this season after having been reunited.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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