Azzi Fudd’s foray into her rookie season doesn’t sound half bad. She is getting to spend more time on the court, a season-high 24 minutes just this Wednesday, with her production and shot attempts seeing a steady increment across three games. But let’s not look past the obvious and wade into the ridiculous.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
In theory, the Wings have one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. But in reality, Fudd is barely attempting any 3-point shots; 1-5 from the 3-point line for her first three games in the WNBA, to be precise. Heck, before you and I even knew of her existence, she named her after Jennifer Azzi, who holds the WNBA career record for 3-point percentage (.458). It was as if her parents knew that would be a foreshadowing of what came years later when she wrapped up her final college season by shooting 44.7% on 6.7 attempts per game at UConn. When she went pro, that’s like evolution waiting to happen. At this point, we know that didn’t happen, and before things run amuck, Fudd has a meek little finger to raise.
“I’m just reading what the defense and what the game gives me,” Fudd said, speaking at the post-game conference. “I know I’m a good three-point shooter. People like to limit me to that, but I’m more than just that.”
In what was Wings’ 92-69 blowout win against the Mystics on Wednesday, Fudd logged her best performance so far. She posted a career-high 12 points off the bench, adding three assists and two rebounds in a showing that underlined exactly what she meant about being more than a perimeter shooter. She went 6-of-8 on two-point field goals and missed her only three-point attempt of the night. Meaning, every one of those points came from inside the arc.
It’s also worth noting the trajectory she’s been on: 3 points in her debut against the Fever, 8 against the Lynx, and now 12 against the Mystics. She’s not exploding out of the gate, but she is clearly finding her footing, game by game. That gradual settling in was entirely by design in this latest outing.
“My goal was just to be aggressive when I got in the game. Contribute any way I could. Watch what the starters were doing. I mean, they started the game off pushing the pace, being aggressive, getting stops. So I wanted to continue that,” she explained.
For context, her veteran teammate Arike Ogunbowale offered a lot of perspective. “She’s just getting comfortable in the league. People think that just because you were amazing at college, you’re just going to go and have confidence. But she’s so good.”
She even referenced a moment in the season when Fudd had the green light but second-guessed herself on a shot she should have taken. “Even one time, she scored two buckets, and she second-guessed the shot. We want her to shoot that every single time,” Ogunbowale said.
The Wings have now won their second game of the season. They dismantled Washington 92–69, a performance as convincing as the score line suggests. With momentum building and Fudd finding her stride off the bench, Dallas will be looking to carry that energy into their next outing against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday.
Jose Fernandez Hints at Bigger Role for Azzi Fudd After Breakout Mystics Performance
Some rookies hit the ground running from the very first possession of their WNBA career. Azzi Fudd has taken a different path, a gradual, deliberate one, with each performance meaningfully better than the last. After her breakout performance against the Mystics, her minute allocation off the bench is about to increase significantly.
“I’m glad that now we can continue to increase the minutes,” head coach Jose Fernandez confirmed, hinting directly at what comes next for his rookie guard.
The progression has been evident in the numbers. 18 minutes in her debut, 20 in the following game, and now 24 against the Mystics. Alongside those minutes, the scoring has climbed in tandem, starting with 3 points, then 8, and now a career-high 12. Not to forget, the Mystics matchup marked her return after Fudd missed the home opener against the Atlanta Dream due to a minor knee sprain.
Coach Fernandez was clearly pleased with how she handled it. “She felt good, and it was good to see her. The comfort level that she played with and how her teammates also moved it and found her,” he said.
In fact, for everyone in the Wings locker room, it was exciting to have Fudd back, especially after she looked so effective while sitting out with the injury. “I think everybody got excited to see Azzi and how well she played. How she shot it and how she defended and how she created off the bounce.”
All of that has given Fernandez every reason to keep trusting Azzi Fudd with a growing share of the game. And if the upward curve she’s been on is any indication, more minutes will almost certainly mean more of the kind of performances that are starting to make the rest of the league take notice.
