wnba
Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd announce breakup after year apart
The Dallas Wings teammates and former UConn stars confirmed on Fudd's podcast that their relationship ended over a year ago. Both were No. 1 WNBA picks in consecutive years and played the 2026 season together after the split.
Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, teammates at UConn and now the Dallas Wings, said on Fudd’s podcast that they ended their relationship more than a year ago, according to Bleacher Report.
The breakup happened before Fudd was selected No. 1 in the 2026 WNBA draft. The two went public with their relationship in 2025 when Bueckers appeared on the WAG Talk show on TikTok.
Bueckers and Fudd played together at UConn from 2021 to 2025. Bueckers was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. Fudd was the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. They are the first pair of college teammates taken with the top pick in the WNBA draft since Tina Charles in 2010 and Maya Moore in 2011.
After Fudd was drafted by the Wings in April, Bueckers said at media day that both could separate their personal relationship from being teammates. “Me and Azzi have always been the utmost professional,” Bueckers said. “We’ve never let anything that happens off the court carry onto the court.”
The Wings won a franchise-record 27 games in the 2026 season and made the playoffs for the first time in three years. They lost in the first round to eventual-champion Golden State Valkyries. Bueckers made the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. Fudd ranked fourth among rookies with 13.1 points per game and shot 39.7% from three.
What the coverage missed
The coverage treated the breakup as a celebrity story. The part that got less attention is the season they played together after it.
Both Bueckers and Fudd were No. 1 picks. Both were drafted by the Wings. The Wings knew they were drafting a player whose relationship with their star had ended. They drafted her anyway, and the team had its best season.
The Wings won 27 games. Bueckers made the All-Star team. Fudd was one of the best rookies in the league. The breakup did not affect the team’s performance, or if it did, it did not show in the standings.
What I think
Two people ended a relationship and then went to work together. They did it for a season. They did it well. The team won more games than it ever had.
The coverage focused on the breakup. The season they played after it is the story. Bueckers said she and Fudd were professionals who never let off-court issues affect their play. The record says she was right.
The Wings drafted Fudd No. 1 knowing the history. The franchise made a basketball decision, not a personal one. The record says it was the right one. Two No. 1 picks, one team, 27 wins and a playoff berth. The relationship was over. The basketball was not.