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A year after selecting Paige Bueckers with the first overall pick, the Dallas Wings again had the first pick in this week’s WNBA Draft, selecting fellow UConn alum Azzi Fudd.
However, the selection is about much more than just an on-court upgrade: Last summer, Bueckers confirmed that she and Fudd were a couple.
The two have been relatively quiet about their relationship, prompting Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Sherrington to ask Fudd at his introductory press conference if they were still a couple.
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Paige Bueckers #5 and Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies and their teammates react on the bench against the UCLA Bruins during the Final Four semifinal game of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on April 4, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
On the verge of that question, Sherrington also asked Fudd if she and Bueckers would talk to “other couples around the league about how they negotiate that dynamic as professional teammates.”
Fudd was not given a chance to respond, as a staff member from the Wings’ public relations team intervened.
“I understand why you have to ask that question, but we will respectfully refrain from commenting on the players’ personal lives,” the staff member said.
Sherrington blamed 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 gather in front of the XL Center in Hartford, CT. (Scott Rausenberger/Image Images)
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“Refusing to acknowledge whether the players are still in a relationship after one of them made it public a year ago suggests they have done something wrong, fueling an ugly narrative. What are we afraid of here? What are we saying when we try to hide something that is already in plain sight?” 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 hidden. Bueckers and Fudd didn’t deserve this. No matter what their status is from now on, I wish them the best of luck.”
WNBA players have come out to each other as teammates and opponents. Notably, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley got married while playing for the Chicago Sky.
It’s unknown how long Fudd and Bueckers have been dating, but they were at least teammates from 2021 until last April, when Bueckers was drafted. But now they have reunited.
UConn guards Azzi Fudd (35) and Paige Bueckers (5) smile on the bench in the second half against Arkansas State in a first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Storrs, Connecticut. (Jessica Hil/AP)
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The duo played in two national championships together and won last year’s: Bueckers joined the school a year before Fudd.
