With the arrival of UConn women’s basketball star Azzi Fudd punctuating a busy offseason, the Dallas Wings stepped into their WNBA opener earlier this month expecting a significant leap forward after two cellar-dwelling campaigns.
Fudd, who shot a blistering 45% from 3-point range this past season in Storrs on nearly seven attempts per game, was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft to provide crucial spacing so mid-range savant and do-it-all point guard Paige Bueckers could build upon her Rookie of the Year season. The tandem of former Huskies has led to early success in Dallas, as the Wings have already reached 30% of last season’s win total with a 3-2 start, but the prevailing storylines have somewhat inverted the expected formula for success.
Bueckers’ 3-point shooting, which was among the few question marks surrounding her brilliant debut season, has been remarkable through five games this year. She’s knocked down 58% of her shots from long range, including a 4-for-5 perimeter performance Monday evening against Washington and various tough 3-point makes in prior contests.
Fudd, meanwhile, has used a surprising flurry of mid-range jumpers to move past some early growing pains and become a key scoring option off the bench for Dallas.
Here’s a look at how Fudd and Bueckers have performed so far in the 2026 WNBA season.
Stats: 20.8 PTS, 5.2 AST, 2.8 REB
Bueckers’ season opener put her on an immediate collision course with the WNBA’s other ascendant backcourt star — Caitlin Clark — with both players pouring in 20 points in a high-scoring thriller from Indianapolis. However, Bueckers’ points came much more efficiently while taking better care of the basketball, leading Dallas to a 107-104 statement win over the Fever.
The former UConn star has maintained her upward trajectory since then, scoring at least 15 points in each game for Dallas this season while continuing to take strides. Her best performance so far came in a loss to Minnesota, when she had 27 points and eight assists while nearly outscoring the rest of Dallas’ starting lineup on her own.
Bueckers’ stated developmental goal this offseason was to earn more opportunities at the free-throw line, and its been a mixed bag for the young point guard in this regard. Her standout performance against the Lynx was fueled by her success at the free-throw line, where she was 10 of 11, but Bueckers attempted just a single foul shot in the following two games.
Stats: 8.8 PTS, 1.0 AST, 1.0 REB
The start to Fudd’s season and WNBA career, meanwhile, was more defined by adjustment and injury, as she became the first No. 1 overall pick in nearly a decade to come off the bench in her regular-season debut against Indiana. Struggling to make an impact in her reserve role, Fudd scored just three points against the Fever, and she was held out of the Wings’ home opener days later with a right knee injury.
Fudd has been much more impactful since returning from her injury. She scored eight points and recorded a rare block in the loss to Minnesota — early concerns around foul trouble continued as she was whistled four times — before delivering 12-point performances in Dallas’ two most recent wins.
Interestingly, just three of Fudd’s 15 made field goals have come from 3-point range, with the former Husky exploiting overzealous perimeter defense to find opportunities in the mid-range. Fudd’s playing time has increased in each of her four games, culminating in 28 minutes Wednesday in a win over Chicago — the fourth-most on the Wings’ roster. She figures to be a crucial figure in Dallas’ rotation as the season progresses.