As expected, the Dallas Wings made UConn star guard Azzi Fudd the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday night.
As soon as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the pick, ESPN’s cameras panned to Paige Bueckers, who was seated in the crowd. Bueckers stood, clapped, and grinned into the camera.
Fudd spoke with ESPN’s Holly Rowe by the stage. Fudd spoke about bringing “whatever the team needs” to the Wings, and as soon as a grinning Bueckers reappeared on screen, the crowd screeched. Rowe asked Fudd about reuniting with Bueckers, whom she played with for four years at UConn.
“I’m excited to play again with Paige,” Fudd said. “I mean, she’s an incredible person, incredible player, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
Bueckers and Fudd won the national championship together at UConn last April.
The Wings picked Bueckers with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Fudd walked the orange carpet with Bueckers, and Bueckers publicly acknowledged Fudd as her girlfriend during WNBA All-Star Weekend last July. Bueckers and Fudd’s current relationship status is unknown.
Bueckers won the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year and earned her first All-Star and All-WNBA selections, but the Wings didn’t have much team success to speak of. Dallas finished with a league-worst 10-34 record.
Prior to adding Fudd in the draft, the Wings signed former Minnesota Lynx forwards Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard in free agency, and four-time All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale opted to re-sign with the Wings on a “seven-figure, multiyear deal,” per ESPN.
While Dallas should contend for the playoffs in 2026, fans will be interested regardless now that Bueckers and Fudd will occupy the same backcourt once again.
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