The Dallas Wings shouldn’t have to worry about team chemistry while integrating their new draft pick.
The WNBA franchise selected UConn Huskies’ Azzi Fudd with the first overall pick of Monday night’s draft, reuniting her with former teammate and current girlfriend Paige Bueckers.
“I’m excited to play again with Paige,” Fudd told Holly Rowe on ESPN. “She’s an incredible person, an incredible player. It’s going to be fun.”
Fudd added that she was still in shock about going first overall.
“I don’t think it’s fully sunk in,” Fudd said. “I don’t really have words. It’s nothing I could have imagined, the feeling sitting there with my family, with (UConn assistant coach) Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, being able to walk up there, it’s such a surreal feeling. I’m so grateful.”
Bueckers was the first-overall pick of the 2025 WNBA and became an instant star in the league.
She averaged 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game while earning a spot in the all-star games and being named to the all-WNBA second team after the season.
Bueckers and her Wings teammates attended the draft, with the rookie of the year award winner getting a big round of applause when she was shown on-screen as Fudd was interviewed.
During last year’s WNBA draft, Fudd was at Bueckers’ side and they walked the red carpet together at the event. They were seated at the same table when Bueckers was selected as the No. 1 overall pick.
How long have they been dating?
Bueckers confirmed her relationship with Fudd last year, making it official during a Q&A at a WNBA all-start event in July 2025.
During the social media clip, Bueckers crushed a quiz in which she was asked questions about her partner before replying to the straight-up question of who her girlfriend is by simply saying it was Fudd.
The couple had been dogged by romantic speculation when Fudd was caught taking a selfie with a phone case that had “Paige Bueckers’ girlfriend” written on it.
How much will each player earn in salary?
The only tension between the two might come from the difference in their rookie salaries.
After the league and the players’ union negotiated a new CBA this off-season, salaries have seen a giant increase. Fudd reportedly will earn a base salary this year of US$500,000, which dwarfs the $78,831 that Bueckers made in her rookie campaign last year.
According to reports, Bueckers will make roughly the same base salary in 2026 as Fudd.