Skip to main content
Join Now

Paige Bueckers reacts to former UConn teammate Azzi Fudd getting drafted to Dallas Wings

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones04/13/26brianjones_93

Paige Bueckers loved that the Dallas Wings selected her former UConn teammate Azzi Fudd No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft. When Fudd was announced on Monday night, Bueckers was seen smiling and clapping for her new teammate.

Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are having a similar journey in the WNBA. Along with playing for UConn, the duo was selected No. 1 overall by the Wings. Bueckers was selected by Dallas last year and won the Rookie of the Year award. Fudd will likely be the early favorite to be named the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

After being drafted by the Wings on Monday night, Fudd shared her reaction to being in the WNBA. “I’m not really sure I have words to describe that feeling, what that meant,” she said, per ESPN. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. It’s nothing I could have imagined. The feeling of sitting with my family, with Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, go up there. Such a surreal feeling.”

Fudd also shared her reaction to reuniting with Bueckers. “Paige is an incredible player, everyone knows that,” Fudd said. “She’s someone that makes playing basketball with easy.”

Azzi Fudd will earn a big contract with the Dallas Wings

With Fudd being the No. 1 overall pick, she will sign a big contract. FOS reported that Fudd will likely sign a deal that will be worth over $2.2 million. Her base salary for her rookie season is expected to be $500,00.

Fudd played a big role in UConn’s success over the last two seasons. She helped the team win the national title in 2025 and followed that up with another Final Four appearance this past season.

It’s not a big surprise that Fudd was selected No. 1, as most outlets predicted it would happen. “She had a poor NCAA Tournament, but is one of the best 3-point shooting prospects ever and won a national championship at UConn alongside Paige Bueckers,” Jack Maloney of CBS Sports said in his final mock draft. “Fudd should thrive next to Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale

We’ll have more on this story shortly.