{"id":248775,"date":"2026-04-14T06:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/248775\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:09:12","slug":"azzi-fudd-taken-first-in-wnba-draft-by-dallas-wings-in-uconn-reunion-with-paige-bueckers-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/248775\/","title":{"rendered":"Azzi Fudd taken first in WNBA draft by Dallas Wings in UConn reunion with Paige Bueckers | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings with the first pick of the WNBA<\/a> draft on Monday night, capping a 12-month ascent from NCAA champion to the top overall choice and setting up a reunion with former University of Connecticut teammate Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n

The 5ft 11in guard, who led UConn to last year\u2019s national title<\/a> and was named the Final Four\u2019s Most Outstanding Player, is the seventh player from the program to go No 1. Bueckers, the top selection by Dallas in the 2025 draft and the reigning WNBA rookie of the year, watched Fudd\u2019s name called from a sold-out crowd at the Shed<\/a>, the $500m cultural center at Hudson Yards on Manhattan\u2019s west side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really sure I have words to describe the feeling, what that meant,\u201d Fudd said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fully sunk in. I don\u2019t really have words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fudd\u2019s selection comes at the onset of a reshaped draft landscape, with the league\u2019s new collective bargaining agreement<\/a> substantially escalating rookie salaries. The top pick is set to earn about $500,000, a significant hike from previous seasons and more than six times higher than what Bueckers received as the No 1 pick last year.<\/p>\n

Unlike last April, when Bueckers was the clearcut choice, this year\u2019s draft featured no consensus top pick. Fudd separated herself late in the process as Dallas addressed their frontcourt needs during the condensed free-agency period after the prolonged CBA negotiations, adding two experienced post players in defensive star Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideWNBA draft 2026Show<\/p>\n

Complete draft order<\/p>\n

First round<\/p>\n

1 Dallas Wings \u2013 Azzi Fudd, G (UConn)
2 Minnesota Lynx (via Chicago) \u2013 Olivia Miles, G (TCU)
3 Seattle Storm (via Los Angeles) \u2013 Awa Fam Thiam, C (Spain)
4 Washington Mystics \u2013 Lauren Betts, C (UCLA)
5 Chicago Sky (via UConn) \u2013 Gabriela Jaquez, G (UCLA)
6 Toronto Tempo \u2013 Kiki Rice, G (UCLA)
7 Portland Fire \u2013 Iyana Martin Carrion, G (Spain)
8 Golden State Valkyries \u2013 Flau\u2019jae Johnson, G (LSU) \u2013 traded to Seattle for the rights to Marta Suarez and a 2028 second-round pick
9 Washington Mystics (via Seattle) \u2013 Angela Dugalic, F (UCLA)
10 Indiana Fever \u2013 Raven Johnson, G (South Carolina)
11 Washington Mystics (via New York) \u2013 Cotie McMahon, F (Mississippi)
12 Connecticut Sun (via Phoenix) \u2013 Nell Angloma, F (France)
13 Atlanta Dream \u2013 Madina Okot, F (South Carolina)
14 Seattle Storm (via Las Vegas) \u2013 Taina Mair, G (Duke)
15 Connecticut Sun (via Minnesota) \u2013 Gianna Kneepkens, G (UCLA)<\/p>\n

Second round<\/p>\n

16 Seattle Storm (via Dallas) \u2013 Marta Suarez, F (TCU) \u2013 traded to Golden State for the rights to Flau\u2019jae Johnson
17 Portland Fire (via Chicago) \u2013 Frieda Buhner, F (Spain)
18 Connecticut Sun \u2013 Charlisse Leger-Walker, G (UCLA)
19 Washington Mystics \u2013 Cassandre Prosper, G (Notre Dame)
20 Los Angeles Sparks \u2013 Ta\u2019Niya Latson, G (South Carolina)
21 Chicago Sky (via Portland) \u2013 Latasha Lattimore, F (Mississippi)
22 Toronto Tempo \u2013 Teonni Key, F (Kentucky)
23 Golden State Valkyries \u2013 Ashlon Jackson, G (Duke)
24 Los Angeles Sparks (via Seattle) \u2013 Chance Gray, G (Ohio State)
25 Indiana Fever \u2013 Justine Pissott, G\/F (Vanderbilt)
26 Toronto Tempo (via New York) \u2013 Saffron Shiels, G (Australia)
27 Phoenix Mercury \u2013 Ines Pitarch-Granel, G (France)
28 Atlanta Dream \u2013 Indya Nivar, G (North Carolina)
29 Las Vegas Aces \u2013 Janiah Barker, F (Tennessee)
30 Washington Mystics (via Minnesota) \u2013 Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, G\/F (Baylor)<\/p>\n

Third round<\/p>\n

31 Dallas Wings \u2013 Zee Spearman, F (Tennessee)
32 Chicago Sky \u2013 Tonie Morgan, G (UConn)
33 Connecticut Sun \u2013 Serah Williams, F (UConn)
34 Washington Mystics \u2013 Rori Harmon, G (Texas)
35 Los Angeles Sparks \u2013 Amelia Hassett, F (Kentucky)
36 Toronto Tempo \u2013 Charlise Dunn, G (Davidson)
37 Portland Fire \u2013 Taylor Bigby, G (TCU)
38 Golden State Valkyries \u2013 Kokoro Tanaka, G (Japan)
39 Seattle Storm \u2013 Grace VanSlooten, F (Michigan State)
40 Indiana Fever \u2013 Jessica Timmons, G (Alabama)
41 New York Liberty \u2013 Manuela Puoch, F (Australia)
42 Phoenix Mercury \u2013 Eszter Ratkai, G (Hungary)
43 Atlanta Dream \u2013 Kejia Ran, G (China)
44 Las Vegas Aces \u2013 Jordan Obi, G (Kentucky)
45 Minnesota Lynx \u2013 Lani White, G (Utah)<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

Minnesota selected Texas Christian guard Olivia Miles with the second pick after she returned for an additional college season, transferred from Notre Dame and led the Horned Frogs to a second straight Elite Eight appearance. Seattle followed by taking Spanish center Awa Fam Thiam third, while Washington chose UCLA\u2019s Lauren Betts fourth.<\/p>\n

Chicago rounded out the top five with UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez, and the expansion Toronto Tempo selected fellow Bruins guard Kiki Rice at No 6, extending UCLA\u2019s presence at the top of the draft just eight days after their national title run.<\/p>\n

The top prospects invited to Monday\u2019s draft in New York pose on the stage before the start. Photograph: Angelina Katsanis\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Golden State selected Louisiana State guard Flau\u2019jae Johnson with the No 8 pick, but later agreed to the draft\u2019s first trade, sending her rights to Seattle in exchange for TCU forward Marta Su\u00e1rez, the No 16 overall pick, along with a 2028 second-round selection.<\/p>\n

The Bruins\u2019 celebration carried through the night. Washington added another UCLA player, Angela Dugali\u0107, at No 9, and Connecticut selected Gianna Kneepkens with the 15th and final pick of the first round, giving UCLA five first-round selections \u2013 setting a record for the most ever by a single program.<\/p>\n

UCLA set another mark for most players selected in a single draft when the Connecticut Sun took Charlisse Leger-Walker in the second round, bettering the previous record of five shared by South Carolina (2023), Notre Dame (2019) and Tennessee (1997, 2008).<\/p>\n

Dallas enter the season seeking a turnaround after consecutive losing campaigns and significant roster turnover. Fudd joins a backcourt that includes Bueckers and All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale as the Wings attempt to reestablish themselves following an extended dry spell that\u2019s included only one playoff series win since 2010.<\/p>\n

Fudd\u2019s arrival also extends a connection that predates the draft. Fudd and Bueckers spent four seasons together at UConn and confirmed last year they are in a relationship<\/a>, a dynamic that adds an additional layer of familiarity as the Wings build around two No 1 picks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur time at UConn was full of injuries \u2013 either I was playing and she wasn\u2019t, or she was playing and I wasn\u2019t,\u201d Fudd said of her pairing with Bueckers. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until last year that we really got a chance to play together, and even then it wasn\u2019t a full season. So I feel like there\u2019s still so much left on the table, so much unknown, so much potential \u2013 not just with her, but with the entire Dallas Wings roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

The draft also reflected broader changes across the league. Expansion franchises Toronto and Portland continued to build their rosters, with multiple teams holding additional first-round picks after offseason trades and expansion-related moves, while increased salaries and additional roster spots under the new labor deal are expected to improve the chances for incoming players to make opening-day teams.<\/p>\n

Historically, roster spots have been scarce<\/a>, with only about half of drafted players making final squads. That pressure is expected to ease somewhat as the league expands to 18 teams over the next five years, with Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia all set to join by 2030.<\/p>\n

The other UConn players to go No 1 overall are Bueckers, Breanna Stewart (2016), Maya Moore (2011), Tina Charles (2010), Diana Taurasi (2004) and Sue Bird (2002).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings with the first pick of the WNBA draft on Monday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-248775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}