Azzi Fudd to Miss Rest of WNBA Season: What It Means for Wings and Their Playoff Chances

Azzi Fudd will be out for the rest of the WNBA season as she is set to undergo an arthroscopic surgery on her right knee, the team announced Wednesday.

The procedure is scheduled for early next week in Connecticut, after which Fudd plans to begin rehabbing immediately. Fudd last appeared in a game on Aug. 5 against the Mystics and sat out of the Wings’ game against the Valkyries two days later after experiencing soreness in her right knee during pregame warmups.

She ended up missing the next five games before the team announced she would miss the remainder of the season, including the WNBA playoffs. Fudd also committed to play in the international league Project B beginning in December, but those plans may have to be put on hold.

Azzi Fudd injury news deals tough blow to Wings ahead of playoff push

Fudd, the reigning No. 1 pick, has averaged 13.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game in a relatively quiet rookie season thus far.

The UConn product has suffered and overcome knee injuries in the past; she tore her ACL and MCL in her right knee in high school in 2019, then re-tore her ACL while playing for the Huskies. The latter injury caused her to miss almost all of the 2024-25 season.

But what does Fudd’s latest setback mean for the Wings? It doesn’t bode well for their potential playoff run.

Dallas currently sits on the fringe of a playoff spot in eighth place with a 20-16 record. Even if the Wings do sneak in as the No. 8 seed, they would face the top-seeded Lynx in the first round, and Minnesota looks just about unstoppable at the moment.

The team has eight games remaining in the regular season. Barring their upcoming matchup against the Fever on Thursday, the rest of their schedule is reasonably smooth-sailing, as they’ll be facing a handful of teams in the bottom half of the league (Storm, Sun, Sparks, Mercury). The one silver lining is that the Wings have a five-game homestand coming up.

Here’s a look at the rest of their regular season games:

Fever @ Wings—8 p.m. ET on Aug. 20
Storm @ Wings—4 p.m. ET on Aug. 23
Fire @ Wings—8 p.m. ET on Aug. 25
Sun @ Wings—8 p.m. ET on Aug. 30
Sparks @ Wings—8 p.m. ET on Sept. 17
Mercury @ Wings—1 p.m. ET on Sept. 19
Wings @ Mercury—10 p.m. ET on Sept. 21
Wings @ Storm—10 p.m. ET on Sept. 23

Losing Fudd will likely throw off the team’s offensive rhythm and force Dallas to find other ways to recreate her scoring production (the Wings have lost four of the five games in which Fudd was sidelined). Guard Odyssey Sims could slide into Fudd’s place, but the playmaking burden will lie on Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. Key offseason acquisition Jessica Shepard may have to get more involved in the offense, too.

The Wings are looking to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2023. Considering they finished dead-last in the league with a 10-34 record last year, that’s no easy feat—and things are about to get harder with Fudd out of the picture for the rest of the season.

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