The first overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, Fudd scored a career high on Sunday in a victory over the New York Liberty.
Anyone who has started a new job knows there’s a period of adjustment in the first few weeks or even months, especially if it’s involved moving from a place where you’ve spent the past, oh, five years.
Azzi Fudd made that move from Storrs, Conn., to Dallas. And let’s just say the Dallas Wings guard – who led UConn women's basketball to an undefeated regular season in 2025-26 -- showed Sunday that the adjustment period might be over.
The Wings made Fudd the No. 1 pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft in April, and she had her best game as a professional on Sunday in a 91-76 win against the New York Liberty in front of a sellout crowd in Brooklyn, N.Y.
She set a franchise record for most 3-pointers by a rookie in a game with six -- five of them coming in the third quarter, in which she scored 17 points.
She tied another former UConn great, Dallas teammate Paige Bueckers, for a team-high 24 points – a career-high for Fudd in her first six WNBA games. And she drained shots much like the college version of Fudd, making 9-of-15 attempts (60%) and 6-of-12 (50%) from 3-point territory. Her plus/minus? An amazing plus 22.
Fudd also played a career-high 32 minutes and contributed two rebounds, three assists and three steals. And she certainly felt comfortable putting the ball in the air. The 15 shot attempts are her first in double figures as a pro.
Adjustment over?
In the first five games of her career, Fuzz seemed reserved in her play. Coming off the bench, she averaged 8.4 points and attempted just 6.6 total shots and 2.2 3-pointers per game.
In her senior season at UConn, Fudd was named a first-team Associated Press All-American after averaging 17.3 points, 13.7 shot attempts (6.7 from long range) and 44.7% from 3 per game.
On Sunday, Wings fans saw the comfortable Fudd, one who didn’t look as if she were carrying the weight of being the No. 1 draft pick on her shoulders.
Postgame, another former UConn star guard, Sue Bird – working as part of the NBC Sports broadcast crew – told Fudd it appeared she was “kind of starting to figure things out.”
Fudd credited the improvement of her game from the start of the season two weeks ago to “just the experience. I think each game is getting a little more comfortable.”
“Everything was brand new, from figuring out my own pregame meal to my schedule,” Fudd said. “Just every single little thing (you) possibly think of was brand new. I had to figure that out. So, I think each game, just getting that experience, taking notes on what's working, what's not, what I should change, what I should keep, and then asking all my vets what they do, and picking apart that.”
The Las Vegas Aces (4-2) will be picking apart the tape from this game. They will visit the Wings (4-3) in Dallas on Thursday to get their first look at Fudd in the WNBA.
Join the Conversation
Remember to join our UCONN on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Huskies fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
