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A year after selecting Paige Bueckers with the first overall pick, the Dallas Wings had the No. 1 pick again in this week’s WNBA Draft, selecting fellow UConn alum Azzi Fudd.
However, the selection is much more than just an improvement on the field — last summer, Bueckers confirmed that she and Fudd were a couple.
The two have been relatively quiet about their relationship, prompting Kevin Sherrington, a columnist for the Dallas Morning News, to ask Fudd at his introductory press conference if they were still an item.
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Paige Bueckers #5 and Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies and teammates react on the bench against the UCLA Bruins during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Amalie Arena on April 4, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
On the precipice of that question, Sherrington also asked Fudd if she and Bueckers would talk to “other couples in the league about how they negotiate that dynamic as professional teammates.”
Fudd didn’t get a chance to answer when an employee of the Wing’s PR team entered.
“I understand why you have to ask that question, but we will respectfully decline to comment on players’ personal lives,” the staff said.
Sherrington laid the blame on the Wings in a column.
UConn student-athlete Paige Bueckers and UConn student-athlete Azzi Fudd take the stage during the Final Four Champions victory parade and rally outside the XL Center in Hartford, CT. (Scott Rausenberger/Imagn Images)
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“Refusing to acknowledge if players are still in a relationship after one of them went public a year ago suggests they’ve done something wrong and fed an ugly narrative. What are we afraid of here? What are we saying when we try to hide something that’s already out in the open?” he wrote.
“If anyone is to blame here, it’s the Wings, who invited the obvious question by drafting Fudd when they had other options and then acted like they were covering up something that didn’t need to be covered up. The Bueckers and Fudd didn’t deserve this. Regardless of their status from here on out, I wish them the best of luck.”
Players in the WNBA have dated each other as both teammates and opponents. Notably, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley were married while playing with the Chicago Sky.
It is unknown how long Fudd and Bueckers have or had been dating, but at least they were teammates from 2021 until last April, when Bueckers was drafted. But they have now been reunited.
UConn guards Azzi Fudd (35) and guard Paige Bueckers (5) smile at each other on the bench during the second half against Arkansas State in a first round NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (Jessica Hill/AP)
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The duo played in two national championship games together, winning last year’s — Bueckers came to the school a year before Fudd.
