DALLAS — As the Dallas Wings’ game against the Golden State Valkyries neared tipoff, the American Airlines Center crowd of over 16,000 learned some disappointing news. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, came out of the tunnel in street clothes and was ruled out late for Friday night’s matchup.
The guard participated in the morning shootaround and pregame warmups but started to experience right knee soreness. She was sidelined for the game “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the team’s announcement.
Fudd has missed two games this season, both due to knee soreness. Wings general manager Curt Miller previously told reporters that the team is “intentionally very, very conservative” with Fudd, who has a history of knee injuries and joined the Wings not long after playing 39 games in her final college season.
Even while coming off the bench to start the year, Fudd has quickly become a key part of the rotation. She ranks 14th in the league in minutes per game and seventh since joining the starting lineup on May 27.
Before she was ruled out for Friday’s game, Fudd told The IX Sports that recovery has been the biggest key to managing the load she’s taken on this season.
“Making sure I control the controllables is a big thing for me,” she said pregame. “Sleep, what I eat, how I recover, my strength program, my strength training. Obviously, I don’t control the minutes I play … but making sure that all the off-the-court stuff I’m maximizing and taking care of.”
The Wings certainly like to see the rookie healthy, given how valuable she’s been to the team’s 19-13 season. She’s averaging 13.1 points and 2.1 made 3-pointers per game while shooting a shade under 40% from long range. In addition, she’s taken on tough defensive assignments and contributed 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
“She’s just a terrific three-level offensive player, but then also, she plays so effectively at the defensive end,” Miller told reporters in late July. “I don’t know if enough has been written about the type of defensive season that she’s put together here early. It’s been pretty remarkable. I’ve coached some of the best guard defenders this league’s had in the recent eras, and to see what she’s doing is really, truly elite.”
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Fudd’s draft position opens her season up to increased scrutiny, and she’s not quite in the same mold as other recent No. 1 picks. It’s rare to see a primarily off-ball guard picked atop the order. Her current usage percentage of 18.1% is lower than all but three No. 1 picks in league history had in their rookie seasons.
The WNBA Rookie of the Year award also appears decided already, with No. 2 pick Olivia Miles emerging as an MVP candidate with the Minnesota Lynx. Still, Dallas has plenty of reason to be excited about how quickly Fudd has become a key fixture on a likely playoff team.
“People are going to live in comparison of what a No. 1 pick should be and what the No. 2 pick is doing and what the No. 3 pick is doing, but just running her own race and knowing her story is different and her journey is different,” star guard Paige Bueckers said about Fudd in July on the “Bird’s Eye View” podcast. “… She’s perfect for what we needed and what her role is.”
Fudd has unsurprisingly been a strong complement to Bueckers, the Wings lead guard and Fudd’s former UConn teammate. And Fudd has made the team better when she’s on the floor. The Wings score more effectively; come up with more assists, steals and blocks; and turn the ball over less often with Fudd on the floor. Her 62 3-pointers are the most by any rookie in franchise history, and she’s growing comfortable with expanding her offensive game.
“I think you see her starting to get more aggressive, putting the ball down on the deck and getting to the basket,” head coach Jose Fernandez told reporters before a game against the Washington Mystics on July 31. “She’s been a pleasure to coach, and … she was a perfect fit for what we’re doing in Dallas.”
On Friday, Fudd watched from the sideline as Dallas lost 94-76, shot 28% from three, and had just eight assists while turning the ball over 13 times. The Wings’ challenge against the Valkyries’ league-best defense only got tougher without one of their best offensive players.
Thirty games into the season, the rookie feels she’s improved in many ways, mainly in watching film more efficiently. With a tighter schedule and talented opponents every game, there’s “no let-up,” she said.
“Every game, you’re playing against the best women in the world,” Fudd said. “There’s no, ‘OK, I could take a break this game or not. This game’s less important.’ Each game is important. Each game, any team can win. Any team can lose. So making sure that you show up and making sure you know who you’re playing against.
“As much as I pride myself in defense, I think defense wins games, but better offense is going to beat great defense. So being able to make things difficult for the other team, and that’s something that I feel like I can contribute for my team every night.”
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Down the stretch of the season, Fudd said she wants to improve her consistency. Her most recent rough patches were in losses to the Mystics on July 31 and again on Wednesday. Her 2-for-8 and 3-for-11 shooting outings were two of her worst of the season.
“I pride myself in being someone who’s consistent. I feel like I haven’t been so much so this season,” she said. “And making sure that I’m not letting up at all, constantly staying aggressive, and a lot of times I like to run our play, but making sure if there’s a lane to the basket, I take it. If there’s something else, I take it.”
That aggressiveness and consistency will be needed for Dallas to stop its current slide down the standings. The Wings are 2-5 in their last seven games and sit in seventh place, winning the head-to-head tiebreaker with the eighth-place New York Liberty. Fudd has liked the team’s pace, ball movement and execution at points during recent games, and she said playing at that level for all four quarters will help the Wings get back on track.
“We’ve learned a lot in this last little stretch — all season really, but especially in this last little stretch,” Fudd said. “So I think being able to take what has been working, fix some of those things, but then continue to build. We’ve been doing a lot of good things, but I think being able to build and bounce back.”
Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Washington Mystics, holds a minority stake in The IX Sports. The IX Sports’ editorial operations are entirely independent of Monumental and all other business partners.
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