Dallas Makes Azzi Fudd the No. 1 Pick, Reunites Her With Former UConn Star Paige Bueckers

The Dallas Wings made the biggest decision of the 2026 WNBA draft Monday night by selecting UConn guard Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick, giving the franchise one of the most recognizable stars in women’s college basketball and reuniting her with former Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers in the process.

Fudd now joins a Dallas team that already features Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft and the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

That reunion gives Dallas more than a headline. It gives the Wings a familiar backcourt connection built from one of the biggest brands in women’s college basketball. Fudd and Bueckers helped power UConn’s return to the top of the sport, and now the Wings are betting that chemistry, shot-making and shared experience can carry over to the next level. The franchise had the top pick in back-to-back drafts, selecting Bueckers first in 2025 and Fudd first again in 2026.

Her path has not been simple. Injuries interrupted major portions of her college career and repeatedly stalled momentum that looked obvious whenever she was healthy. But by the end of this season, Fudd had reestablished herself as one of the best guards in the country, and Dallas clearly decided the full package was too strong to pass up: elite shooting ability, championship pedigree, and a player who had once again proven she could deliver on the biggest stage.

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For the Wings, the pick lands at a time when the franchise is trying to turn top-end draft capital into something more stable and lasting. Bueckers gave Dallas a franchise guard last year and quickly backed that up with a strong rookie season that ended with Rookie of the Year honors. Now the Wings are pairing her with another former UConn star, creating one of the most recognizable young duos in the league before Fudd has even played her first pro game.

Fudd addressed the next step Monday night and made clear she is ready for the transition. “I think the biggest thing for me is just to continue to be myself,” she said after the selection. “I’ve had so many great people around me throughout my entire basketball journey and they’ve helped me get to this point. I think just being able to continue to learn, continue to grow, and continue to compete at the highest level, that’s what I’m excited for.”

The UConn connection is a major part of the story, but it is not the only one. Dallas is also adding a player who has been on the national radar for years and who just finished a title-winning season as one of the sport’s biggest names. Fudd is not arriving as a mystery projection. She is arriving as a proven scorer with deep tournament experience and a profile that has been watched closely since high school.

Now she lands in Dallas beside a former teammate who already knows the city, the organization and the pace of the WNBA. That kind of built-in familiarity does not guarantee anything, but it gives the Wings a cleaner runway than most teams get with a No. 1 pick.

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