Azzi Fudd’s Rookie Season With the Wings Has Gone Exactly to Plan

Since Azzi Fudd became a regular starter eight games into the WNBA season, the rookie has averaged 14.9 points per game. | Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

Once the Wings made UConn star Azzi Fudd the top pick of the WNBA draft, Dallas general manager Curt Miller caused a bit of a stir. The 2026 class was stacked at the top, which led to fiery debate centered around exactly who should go No. 1.

How about offensive maestro Olivia Miles? Perhaps the Spanish phenom Awa Fam? Or even Lauren Betts, who was fresh off an incredible NCAA tournament where she led UCLA to the program’s first title.

For Dallas, though, Fudd stood above the rest. The Wings added another star from Geno Auriemma’s storied UConn program after the franchise took Paige Bueckers with the top pick a year earlier. Fudd brought elite three-point shooting to space the floor, which would give Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale more room to operate. Plus, her improvement as a defender looked like it had a chance to translate to the next level.

Near the midway point of Fudd’s rookie season, Miller’s bet has already paid dividends.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing from the beginning, however. Miles’s immediate breakout as one of the best players in the WNBA made Fudd’s slower adjustment to the league a big question after Miles led the Lynx without Napheesa Collier. Fudd missed a game early in the season for injury management and Wings coach Jose Fernandez held her out of the starting lineup until the eighth game of the season. Since then, however, it’s been all systems go as the top pick has become a true impact player for a Dallas team on the rise.

Azzi Fudd’s rookie season has gone exactly to plan

Since Fudd became a starter, she’s averaged 14.9 points per game, which would put her in front of Jessica Shepard as the Wings’ No. 2 scorer behind Bueckers. Over the full season, the top pick has averaged 13.6 points per game and shot 38.4% from three-point range on just under five attempts a night. 

She’s in the midst of a hot stretch with two 20-point performances in the past three games, which includes a career-high 26 points in a win over the Storm where she hit four threes and the game-winning bucket in overtime.

Azzi Fudd tonight 🔥

• 26 points
• 4 steals
• 3 rebounds
• 2 assists
• 11/17 FG pic.twitter.com/2sdXOjKkPF

— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 23, 2026

After two seasons as the best shooter in college basketball, Fudd’s ability to knock down shots at an elite rate and space the floor for her teammates was her standout skill as a prospect. Entering the league, though, she’s been as impressive on the defensive end. She leads all rookies in steals with 32 and is tied with Flau’jae Johnson for the most blocks in her draft class with 19. Fudd improved as a defender over her college career, but her ability to impact games by keeping pressure on opponents and blowing up plays has made her transition to the league impeccably smooth. 

Azzi Fudd Stocks [STL + BLK] So Far ‘26 Rookie Season pic.twitter.com/82BCkHaDlG

— 🎬 (@AnastasiaMedia2) June 16, 2026

Fudd’s 1.8 steals per game are fourth across the entire WNBA. Her 1.1 blocks a night are tied for 11th, but it’s the best mark among guards. That matters for a team that wants to push the pace and get the ball to Bueckers in transition.

When Dallas is at its best, the ball zips around to create an easy look, no matter who that shot goes to. Fudd has been able to take advantage of the on-ball pressure opponents bring to Bueckers, which has given her more room to smartly move off the ball to get herself open. Her rookie season hasn’t always looked pretty—some nights the shots don’t fall and there was a strange slow-rolled start to the year—but she’s already become a high level two-way player across the league, which is exactly what the Wings needed.

The Wings still made the right pick at the top of the draft

Miles (left) and Fudd each scored 21 points in the Lynx’s 85–77 win over the Wings on Sunday. | Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

It’s still fair to question whether the Wings would be better off if the franchise chose Miles over Fudd. Miles is an All-WNBA caliber player in her first year, averaging a whopping 18.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. She’s downright spectacular—her flashy passes and crafty finishes at the rim wow us all on a nightly basis. The game is slow for Miles and she plays well beyond her years.

Miles is the runaway Rookie of the Year, but that doesn’t mean that what Fudd has done in Dallas is any less impressive. And, most notably, it doesn’t mean that Miller made the wrong pick at the top of the draft.

Talent wins out over fit in the draft, but the Wings had a clear need for an elite shooter on the wing and Fudd is exactly that. Although her first season has had its fair share of highs and lows so far, she’s looked on pace to become one of the best shooters in the entire league. And if she’s not already there, she’s a pretty darn good distance shooter in a league stacked with them. When you couple that with her impact on defense, the Wings added an elite complementary piece alongside their franchise player in Bueckers.

Miles would have been great on any team—she’s already a superstar in this league. But with a franchise guard already in tow, the Wings made the right pick for their team in choosing Fudd, who’s raised Dallas’ floor as the team looks to make a deep run in the playoffs this year.

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