The Dallas Wings reunited two former UConn Huskies in their back court with their back-to-back No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft.
The Dallas Wings have their latest star in Azzi Fudd. The former UConn Huskies guard was taken No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA draft on Monday night, joining fellow Huskies teammate and first overall selection by the Wings last year, Paige Bueckers, formulating a backcourt envisioned about for years. Bueckers was in attendance for Fudd to hear her named called, reuniting the two from UConn, and kicking off a record seven No. 1 overall selections for the Huskies. Dallas added arguably the best three-point shot in the country in Fudd.
Fudd averaged career highs in several metrics in her 2025-26 campaign, including 17.3 points per game, 48 percent field goal shooting, and 45 percent from the three. Over the last three seasons, Fudd has nailed a nation-leading 196 threes. That was all despite some injury history and adversity of setbacks to her knee, including an ACL tear.
There was plenty of noteworthy selections in the first round, including several UCLA Bruins, who broke UConn’s record of having four players selected in the first round. Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez went in the top five, followed by Kiki Rice to Toronto at sixth. The Bruins also had a record-five players drafted in total, shattering one shared by Tennessee in 1997 and 2008, Notre Dame in 2019, and South Carolina in 2023. But the majority of the spotlight was on the former Husky at No. 1 overall for a second year running.
Here is the full story from WNBA Roundtable writer Grant Afseth on the Wings’ first back-to-back No. 1 picks in league history.
Intriguingly, Fudd is set to make nearly seven times what Bueckers earned last season as a result of the collective bargaining agreement that bumped up rookie salaries. As No. 8 pick Flau'jae Johnson put it, this draft class has significance in the WNBA’s 30th season, and she’s looking to leave it better than she found it.