Joint Contribution by Bill and Riley Ingram
Paige Bueckers is the face of the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, but this year’s rookie is making a name for herself, as well.
Dallas, TX – Last season the Dallas Wings used the number one pick in the WNBA draft to give their franchise a new cornerstone. UCONN’s Paige Bueckers took the league by storm, winning Rookie of the Year honors and demanding Dallas basketball fans to take notice. This year the Wings again had the top pick in the draft and used it on Bueckers’ former UCONN backcourt mate, Azzi Fudd. Fudd hasn’t put up the kind of numbers Bueckers did during her rookie campaign, but she’s making her mark on the Wings, nonetheless.
Azzi Fudd – photo courtesy of the Dallas Wings
“I think everyone knows what she’s meant for us on the defensive end of the floor,” says Wings head coach Jose Fernandez. “She’s an elite defender and our best player to change the course of a game with her deflections and steals. Those are big and she makes a big impact on that end of the floor. She’s also demanding great coverage on the offensive end, as well.”
It’s clear that Minnesota Lynx rookie point guard Oliva Miles will be this year’s WNBA Rookie of the Year, but Fudd’s contributions are forcing other teams to take notice despite the lesser media attention.
“She’s had a great season and the way she can get her shot off is quite remarkable,” says Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello. “She’s complemented this group really well. You have to stay close to her, you know, when you have a shooter who’s elite like that you have to stay at home. Choose your poison. You can crowd her a little bit and then Paige will go off, which she can on any given night, but she just shoots the ball incredibly well. She’s more than a three-point shooter, though, her mid-range isn’t falling well right now but she’s more than capable of going to her right hand and she’s more than capable defensively. That’s a big piece for them to be missing when she’s injured.”
As part of the WNBA’s All-Star festivities in Chicago, Fudd became the first rookie to ever win the three-point shootout, dropping 21 shots in the final round en route to 30 points. Despite being the Wings’ third or fourth option on offense, she’s leading the team in three-point makes at 5.2 per game as well as makes at 2.1 per game while connecting on 39.7%.
“I think Azzi is someone that you have to guard, no matter where she is on the floor,” says Wings forward Alanna Smith. “She has – I think the WNBA is doing this now – gravity. She demands attention, and I think that opens up the floor a lot for our offense and defensively she’s been very effective. It’s surprising for such a young guard to have the basketball IQ that she has – it’s rare. We rely heavily on her for guard assignments, so she has helped us contain the other team’s best guard.”
In fact, Fudd grades out exceptionally well in analytical guard defense, sitting near the 90th percentile with a +0.7 DRAPM (Defensive Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus). Analytical tracking ranks Fudd as one of the Dallas Wings’ most reliable perimeter defenders—frequently third overall on the team in defensive net impact and notably higher than backcourt mates in defensive efficiency.
Paige Bueckers will be the face of the Dallas Wings for the foreseeable future, but every star player is only as good as her supporting cast. With Azzi Fudd in the mix, the Dallas Wings have another piece in place for what they hope will soon be a championship core.
Riley Ingram is a journalism student at Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland and contributed significantly to this article.
Bill Ingram is the Mayor’s Appointee and Vice-Chair of the Garland Environment and Community Advisory Board. He is a college professor, long-time journalist and contributing writer for The Garland Gazette.
