Azzi Fudd has finally proved herself. She was deemed an elite prospect, matching the likes of Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and others, but hadn’t been able to show her real skills. Multiple injuries, especially her ACL tear affected her availability and there were doubts if she would sink in that injury hole. However, she has fought back. In 2025-26 Fudd has been fit and firing. So much so that she is being touted as a No. 1 draft pick to partner Paige Bueckers at Dallas. Let’s examine this scenario starting from whether it’s possible at all. 

Will Azzi Fudd Enter the 2026 WNBA Draft and Be Eligible for Dallas Wings?

Yes, Azzi Fudd will enter the WNBA 2026 Draft. According to the last collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and its players’ union, all NCAA players who graduate from a four-year college within three months of the draft, or are four years removed from high school graduation, or turn at least 22 years old during the year in which the draft takes place are eligible to renounce any remaining NCAA eligibility and opt in to the WNBA draft. It’s unknown whether there are any changes in the latest CBA but there aren’t expected to be. 

Fudd is 24 and has already used her medical redshirt and is in her 5th season at UConn. So, she needs to enter the draft. Since the Dallas Wings won the lottery to get the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive time, they can easily draft her. 

Could the Dallas Wings Draft Azzi Fudd to Reunite With Paige Bueckers?

In February, ESPN had Azzi Fudd going at No. 1 to the Dallas Wings. And not much has changed since then. The Huskies are still unbeaten and favorites to win the national championship. Fudd is still playing at an elite level. If anything, she has only improved, as evidenced by her career-high 34 points and eight 3-pointers against Syracuse. Even WNBA legend Diana Taurasi believes Azzi would go No. 1.

“Dallas is going to have a tough decision to make, and it’s a decision you want when you have the number one pick and you have all this talent coming out. I think just from a bird’s-eye view, you would say Azzi  is the number one pick,” She said.

However, some also believe that the Dallas Wings need a forward/center. Awa Fam and Lauren Betts are the probable names in that scenario. Fam is the more prominent name among those two because of Jose Fernandez’s international recruiting history. So, there are doubts around Fudd’s Wings move but currently she seems to be ahead. Her UConn past and relationship with Paige Bueckers is also affecting this narrative. However, these projections are rooted in basketball fit too. 

Is Azzi Fudd the Right Fit for the Dallas Wings’ System?

Azzi Fudd is a straight-up shooter. She averages 17.8 points while shooting 45.4% from three and 49.5% from the field at 62.6 TS%. But more specifically, her strengths lie in off-ball shooting.

Azzi Fudd’s updated 3PT breakdown by play-types (via Hunter Cruse):

Spot Up: 46.9%

Off Screens: 46.0%

Off Handoffs: 48.1%

Transition: 47.5%

“Greatest off-ball shooting prospect ever. You can’t do better than this,” Cruse wrote. In addition, Fudd takes pride in her defense and becoming a more complete player on the court.  She pressures the opponent’s weakside, often forcing a turnover or a bad shot. And she is always in a good position to be the outlet pass when it’s time to attack. That has led to 5.7 fast break points per game, which stands in the 99th percentile. Let’s have a look at her advanced defensive statistics. (via CBB Analytics)

Playing for UConn, she has made winning a habit, much like Bueckers. She has played under the brightest lights and won the NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player award last year. Her fit with Bueckers is also one to look at.  “The synergy that she has with Paige on the court,” Taurasi said. “They play great together, and I think when you get to the WNBA, if you have two guards that can do everything—defend, pass, shoot the three, and get to the paint—then we’re talking about building championship DNA.”

The Dallas Wings were not the best three-point shooting team last year. They were 30.4% from beyond the arc and were only better than the Connecticut Sun. So, Fudd improves them in that area immediately. In addition, Bueckers gets some much-needed support in scoring. Last season, she scored 23.7% of their points on average over the season. 

“Our best players are going to get the basketball. We’re going to play with great spacing and we know the importance of putting the entire five on the floor where they’re comfortable,” Jose Fernandez has said. Fudd will fit in a “European”-style system where they share the ball with her above-average playmaking, too. She averages 3 assists per game at a 26.4% usage rate. 

Condsidering this, they can go with a 5-out, focusing on their distance shooting with Fudd and Bueckers leading them.  That said, if they go with Fudd, the Wings might end up compromising on size and paint play. However, they can compensate that with a free agency move to some extent. The Wings coach has also laid out what kind of pick he is looking at. 

“I think whoever we take number one is going to be a great fit in the locker room, a great fit in our culture, in our standards, and in the way that we want to play,” He said. “Who we’re going to take, we have control of it, but it’s also going to depend on who we get in free agency and what our needs are going to be at that time.” 

However, he went to say that the draft pick was already decided at the point of the interview dated February 16. “There has been separation by some folks,” he said. So maybe they will target a center if that player is Azzi Fudd or a guard if it’s Fam or Betts. On paper, it seems Fudd could be the fit with the X-factor being her connection and familiarity with Paige Bueckers.