Azzi Fudd’s long-awaited professional debut came last Friday as the Dallas Wings faced Indiana in their preseason opener, a game defined by, as it turns out, extended stretches without the former UConn women’s basketball star.
The No. 1 overall pick was whistled for her third personal foul moments into the second quarter, resulting in Fudd playing just eight total minutes in the first half. She was off to a similarly auspicious start against Las Vegas in Dallas’ second pre-season matchup Sunday evening, committing her first foul before the opening media timeout, but she avoided another benching and drew just one more whistle across 21 minutes of playing time.
Fudd has now committed five fouls in 36 minutes of preseason action, and with the WNBA regular season set to begin later this week, she voiced her frustration with the league’s officiating rules while speaking with reporters after Sunday’s game.
“Honestly, I feel more confused,” Fudd said. “I thought you could be physical in the W, and anytime you touch someone, it’s a foul. I’m not really sure whether to be physical, I don’t know. I’m still figuring that one out.”
The WNBA has historically issued undisclosed fines to players and coaches who publicly criticize referees, with teammate Jessica Shepard joking at the postgame podium that Fudd may receive a fine for her comments. However, the league stated that Fudd’s comments did not rise to the level of warranting a fine, Front Office Sports’ Colin Salao reported Monday.
Fudd’s early foul issues buck her reputation as an impactful and remarkably mistake-free perimeter defender, averaging 2.5 steals per game with a foul rate of just 1.4%, the 14th lowest out of more than 3,000 eligible players in Division I basketball last season. However, as UConn’s competition ramped up in the postseason last month, Fudd demonstrated a similar propensity for fouling, whistled three times in the first quarter of UConn’s first-round NCAA Tournament action before committing four fouls against South Carolina in the Final Four.
The biggest thrust behind Fudd’s rise to become the No. 1 overall pick was her 3-point shooting, hitting at a 45% clip on high volume this past season at UConn, but this aspect of her college game also failed to translate in Dallas’ pre-season action. Fudd has shot just 1-7 from 3-point range and 7-24 from the floor for the Wings so far and is without a steal or a rebound.