The Dallas Wings had the top overall pick in the WNBA Draft each of the past two offseasons and used those picks to select players who have quite a history together in Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.<\/p>\n
In 2025, the decision was clear-cut (though not without its own drama<\/a>). UConn\u2019s Paige Bueckers had been seen as a generational prospect since she was in high school. But this spring, most WNBA reporters presumed Dallas would select raw Spanish forward Awa Fam or TCU\u2019s Olivia Miles, more natural fits next to Bueckers, a scoring guard.<\/p>\n The Wings surprised many by instead drafting Azzi Fudd, also of UConn, and who, perhaps not coincidentally, was\u00a0publicly revealed last year<\/a> to be dating Bueckers.<\/p>\n But if you followed the coverage of the WNBA Draft, that fact was scarcely mentioned. In a new video on his TikTok account<\/a>, longtime sports reporter Jeff Pearlman questioned what happened behind the scenes that would lead top reporters to ignore what he called \u201cthe number one story\u201d coming off the Wings\u2019 selection.<\/p>\n \u201cAzzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are in a long-term relationship, and nobody\u2019s mentioning it. And the WNBA clearly has asked people not to mention it. And it\u2019s very journalistically confusing to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, it is fascinating that these two people who have been dating for a long time, dating back to college, would be the starting backcourt for a team. To me, that is actually the number one piece of this story. It\u2019s not just that they drafted Azzi Fudd, they drafted Azzi Fudd to play with her longtime partner, Paige Bueckers.\u201d<\/p>\n @jeffpearlmanauthor<\/a> Why is the media not covering Azzi Fudd and Page Bueckers in a journalistic manner? #wnba<\/a> #azzifudd<\/a> #pagebueckers<\/a> #dallaswings<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 Jeff Pearlman<\/a><\/p>\n Jeff Pearlman noted that the relationship between Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers was not addressed on ESPN\u2019s broadcast of the draft, or in print write-ups about the Wings\u2019 pick from ESPN.com, The Athletic, or the Dallas Morning News.<\/p>\n The clear pattern in coverage led Pearlman to speculate that either the WNBA or the players\u2019 agents is demanding that the relationship not be mentioned. But, he argued, such a mandate would only reinforce the outdated \u201ctaboo\u201d around LGBT relationships in sports.<\/p>\n \u201cEither the agents of these players or the league itself is telling reporters, if you want access, do not mention this. Don\u2019t bring it up,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually think it\u2019s more of an unfair judgment of women, not to mention it. Like, why is this taboo? Why are two women in a relationship even remotely taboo in 2026? It shouldn\u2019t be at all.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that a sign of the times, is that the political world we live in? I don\u2019t understand. But to me \u2026 it\u2019s the number one story, that the Wings have taken this roll-of-the-dice on this. Hopefully it\u2019ll work. What happens when you have two people, you reunite them together, they\u2019re in the same backcourt, but they also date, and they love each other, and blah, blah, blah, young love. It\u2019s an amazing, amazing story.\u201d<\/p>\n If there was a mandate, it didn\u2019t stop everyone from chattering. Notably, the People article on Azzi Fudd going to Dallas had no issue stating the obvious<\/a> about her relationship with Paige Bueckers.\u00a0A busy WNBA Reddit<\/a> thread questioned the status of the relationship, given that it was ignored by the media and by Fudd herself in interviews.<\/p>\n Of course, there is a chance that Fudd and Bueckers have broken up, and that is why media outlets are ignoring the story. But Bueckers was at the draft as a show of support for Fudd on Monday night in New York City, and was seen throughout UConn\u2019s eventful run in the NCAA tournament<\/a>. And if they have broken up, the story arguably gets even more relevant to WNBA and Wings coverage.<\/p>\n Typically, players\u2019 personal relationships are left to tabloids or online gossip. But it is rare for a team\u2019s best players to openly be in a relationship.<\/p>\n If they are together, Pearlman\u2019s questions are only the tip of the iceberg regarding what happened around the draft and how this glaringly obvious element of the Dallas franchise\u2019s future is covered going forward by WNBA media and local reporters alike.<\/p>\n \t