Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers made it clear during Monday’s media day that questions about her personal relationship with teammate Azzi Fudd are off-limits moving forward.
The two former University of Connecticut players have reunited in Dallas after being selected in consecutive WNBA first rounds, with Fudd becoming this year’s top overall draft choice. Both athletes publicly confirmed their romantic involvement last July, following their 2025 NCAA championship victory with the Huskies.
During Fudd’s recent introductory media session, team officials prevented her from discussing the relationship, with a Wings spokesperson saying they would “respectfully decline from commenting on our players’ personal lives.”
Speaking just days before Dallas opens preseason play against Indiana on April 30, Bueckers addressed the matter directly.
“There is something I want to address, and I only plan on addressing it once. If we continue to get asked about it, we will refer to this moment in time or use the time to deflect and talk about our teammates,” Bueckers stated. “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. … Me and Azzi have always been utmost professionals. We’ve always conducted ourselves as such. We’ve never let anything that happens off the court carry onto the court, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year, who posted impressive numbers with 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, also emphasized that she played no role in Dallas selecting Fudd with the first pick.
“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it,” Bueckers explained. “It had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, as a basketball player, her resilience, her strength and her career-best year at UConn.”
“Azzi is a great individual person, her own great individual person, and should be celebrated as such,” she added.
Fudd’s final collegiate season supported that assessment, as she recorded career-high averages of 17.3 points, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 48.1% from the field and 44.7% from three-point range. The Huskies compiled a perfect 38-0 record before falling to South Carolina in the Final Four.
