azy fadThe number 1 pick In the WNBA Draft, many basketball-related questions were answered dallas wings The introductory news conference took place Thursday, but was overshadowed by another unrelated to the game.
Fad and teammates Paige BueckersThe two, who will team up in Dallas’ backcourt this season, went public about their relationship in 2025, and it was a frequent topic of discussion ahead of this week’s draft.
But when Fudd was asked about his relationship with Bueckers on Thursday – the two remained friendly Yukon and won a national championship together — and whether she would seek advice from other couples in the WNBA about pursuing a relationship as professional players, the topic was quickly shut down.
“Understand why you have to ask this question,” the Wings public relations staffer interjected. “We will respectfully decline to comment on the personal lives of our players.”
Fudd averaged 17.3 points on 47% shooting in his final season at UConn, which ended with a loss to the Huskies. South Carolina In the final four – their Only loss of the season.
Bueckers, who was the No. 1 overall pick by the Wings last year, averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds while winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award.
Wings general manager Curt Miller said the team never hesitated in its decision to draft Fudd as the team looked to take steps forward after finishing with a league-worst record of 10–34 last season and winning only nine games in 2024.
Miller said, “From the moment we achieved the No. 1 pick, we planned to deliberate, thoroughly, with the intention of evaluating where we ultimately landed in selecting AZ Fad.” “We traveled all over the world to see this incredible draft class, but it all always came back to Azzi.
“The words we heard over and over again in his investigation were, a winner, competitive, a hard worker, obviously the skill set speaks for itself, an incredible shooter – probably one of the quickest releases in the game today, a defender with a lot of competitiveness and toughness, and ultimately, all the intangible things that go with Azzi in the locker room – being unselfish, being an incredible teammate, being a high-basketball-IQ player. [It] All of which led us back to Azi Fad through a very thoughtful and thorough process.”
