Paige Bueckers Had a Blunt Message For Everyone Asking About Azzi Fudd originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Paige Bueckers did not wait for the conversation around Azzi Fudd to get any louder.
With Fudd now in Dallas after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Wings have become one of the league’s most fascinating teams. They have back-to-back No. 1 picks, two former UConn stars, two guards with elite shooting and playmaking potential — and, yes, two players whose personal relationship has become a major talking point online.
Bueckers addressed that directly during Wings media day.
According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Bueckers said in an opening statement that Fudd’s draft status was earned and had “nothing to do” with their personal relationship. Philippou also reported that Bueckers said, in part: “Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own. And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Paige Bueckers addressed her relationship with Azzi Fudd in an opening statement during Wings media day:She said, in part: "Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi's personal relationship is nobody's business but our own. And what we choose to share is completely up to us."We've…
That was a clear message from Bueckers: talk basketball, respect boundaries.
The comments came after Fudd’s introductory press conference with the Wings, where Dallas shut down a question about her relationship with Bueckers.
That moment quickly became part of the larger conversation around Fudd’s arrival in Dallas. Some fans were excited about the reunion. Others questioned whether the relationship would become a distraction. Bueckers, though, appeared to push back against the idea that Fudd’s personal life should overshadow why Dallas drafted her.
Fudd was not some surprise pick with no resume. The former UConn guard was officially selected by the Wings with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft after averaging 14.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 47.2 percent from the field during her final college season, according to the WNBA draft board.
Bueckers knows that better than anyone. She was the No. 1 overall pick by Dallas in 2025, also out of UConn, after posting 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in her final college season.
Bueckers and Fudd already have years of chemistry from their UConn days, and that matters for a Wings team trying to build around young star power. Bueckers gives Dallas a franchise guard who can score, pass and organize an offense. Fudd gives the Wings another high-level shooter who can space the floor and play off the ball.
That is why Bueckers’ statement landed the way it did. She was not just protecting her private life. She was also protecting Fudd’s basketball credibility.
There will still be curiosity. That is part of being two of the biggest names in women’s basketball. But Bueckers made it clear that she and Fudd will decide what they want to share — and that everything else should come back to the court.
For the Wings, that is where the focus has to be anyway. Dallas now has two No. 1 picks, a fan base with real excitement and a backcourt that could define the next era of the franchise.
Bueckers just made sure the conversation starts where she believes it belongs: with basketball.