A fantastic freshman feature from Azzi Fudd allowed the Dallas Wings to post a monumental victory, but another dangerous challenge awaits.
BROOKLYN—Azzi went crazy, allowing the Dallas Wings to inch back toward basketball sanity.
NBC viewers didn’t have to wait all day or until September for a Sunday classic between Dallas and New York: a 24-point breakout from Azzi Fudd set the tone for a 91-76 victory over the local Liberty and, at least temporarily, silenced critics questioning why she was named the most recent No. 1 WNBA draft pick. That scoring output is an early career-high for Fudd, the latest UConn Husky to grace the top of the WNBA Draft board.
“I think it just shows what she’s capable of,” Fudd’s partner in deep sharpshooting Arike Ogunbowale said of the rookie’s breakout, per video from BIL’s Grant Afseth. “Obviously, the world’s putting pressure on her but it’s day-by-day. She’s still a rookie, she’s still learning. It’s literally only game seven and she’s coming into her own. But we need her to be aggressive like this, shoot the ball whenever she’s open. She did that today, and it’s good to see.”
Azzi Fudd WENT OFF. And I heard she was a BUST
• 24 Points
• 3 Assists
• 3 Steals
• 2 Blocks
• 9/15 FG
• 6/12 3P
pic.twitter.com/pDgMwVz3FG— Hater Report (@HaterReport) May 24, 2026
Fudd. Thrice. Her.
Everything’s bigger in (North) Texas and the rookie spotlight carries a particularly hefty inflation.
Perhaps spoiled by the fantastic freshman features of recent No. 1 choices, including that of her past and present teammate Paige Bueckers, eyes have flocked toward Fudd. Narratives forged beyond her control have only raised the volume: the questions around Fudd and Bueckers’ personal relationship have subsided but the Minnesota breakout of second overall pick Olivia Miles has led to a debate over whether Dallas should’ve maintained local loyalties with nearby TCU.
Fudd’s fellow WNBA rookie and Dallas head coach Jose Fernandez has defended his early work and his player from the supposed static, reiterating that it’ll take much more to shake the faith professed when the Wings called her on draft night.
“She’s going to have a great career,” Fernandez emphatically declared in the pregame. “I think a lot of people are looking at it as her success as whether she’s starting or she’s not starting. I’m not going to talk about what she’s gone through … Her minutes are going to continue to increase. Other teams, when she comes in, are going to prepare for her because of how talented she is and how well she can space the floor. She has shown how she can create off the dribble and she can defend. She’s going to be a major piece of our success this year.”
The faith of Fernandez and Co. was vindicated with interest on Sunday.
Fudd’s day began quietly enough, coming off the bench as Dallas did battle with a New York group trying to find its footing as it welcomed back several injured headliners back into the fold. While Fudd lacked an outside shooting touch in the early going, solid defensive work to the tune of a team-best plus-6 while Dallas nursed an early deficit. When the Wings came out of intermission, Fudd and fellow reserve Awak Kuier were among the working women at the top of the frame.
From there, Fudd treated the Liberty to iced threes amidst an extended weekend: a one-woman show off-Broadway ensued, as the first of five triples gave Dallas a lead that would prove permanent. The following four proved to be perfect padding, as Fudd took a hammer to her previous infantile career-best long before the third period’s 10 let out.
Fudd wound up keeping pace with the Liberty herself, as she and the Brooklynites tied each other with 17 total period points. The Fudd and the furious essentially neutralized the Liberty’s sixth woman, as the supporters of seafoam yielded to UConn fans taking in one of Fudd and Bueckers’ first professional collaborations. The Husky hounds went home particularly happy, as the lauded national champions each totaled 24 points to post Dallas’ third win in its last four games.
Behind Fudd’s Breakout
Ironically, Fudd blistering breakout was brought about through a desire to play slower, which she revealed as one of her primary goals as she basked in her breakout.
“I felt like I was rushing a little bit every time I caught the ball,” Fudd said. “I wasn’t reading, I was putting the ball down, going too fast. My goal is just to slow down … I’m reading what was there and that was the three tonight.”
Fudd emerging victorious in a Husky civil war put a stamp on Dallas’ bill of upset: as Stewart attempted to drive down the lane with just over three minutes remaining, she was rudely met by Fudd, who subsequent rejection preserved Dallas’ double-figure lead and allowed the clock-running ritual of victory to begin.
Even Stewart couldn’t help but rave about her successor on both the UConn championship ledgers and the WNBA’s top draft slot, hoping that critics would find new material beyond stuffing her in a three-point box.
“Azzi’s an incredible player. She was drafted No. 1 for a reason,” Stewart said. “Her shot and release is so quick and so deadly. She’s more than a 3-point shooter and people are going to start to see that as her game grows in the W.”
Azzi Fudd respectfully tells Breanna Stewart, “No!” pic.twitter.com/e0BcuOuJgM
— zavanté.˙⋆ ♱ (@zavanchy) May 24, 2026
Gonna Fly Now?
Dallas (4-3) was a trendy preseason playoff entrant among prognosticators and it has responded with its best seven-game start since 2023. That’s just the fourth such winning record the franchise has in its 11-year history in North Texas and each of the prior three earners reached the playoffs.
The quest to keep that record rolling, however, features a formidable obstacle on Thursday night when Dallas hosts the defending champion Las Vegas Aces (8 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
As if Fudd’s first fracas with decorated backcourt mavens Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young wasn’t appointment viewing for hardwood heavies, its prelude should be equally enticing. Many will likely wonder if Fudd did enough to secure a spot in the Wings’ starting five, a prospect that Fernandez wasn’t ready to fully address in the aftershocks of the win over the Liberty.
But everyone in Dallas has acknowledged the multi-pronged process of Fudd’s professional play. It’ll take a similar journey to rectify the Wings’ absence on the playoff bracket (which also dates back to 2023) and Fudd is ready to play whatever part she’s assigned. Familiar faith, of course, also refuses to wane.
“We knew she had us [in New York]. We knew it was only a matter of time,” Bueckers said. “It takes time as a rookie to get your legs under you, your feet going, and just to get some experience and some reps at it. It was only a matter of time before we knew the breakout was coming. For us as teammates, to instill that we need her and that we know that she’s capable of doing stuff like this on any given night, I think that’s what the future looks like.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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