In the early goings of the Dallas Wings’ season, Azzi Fudd has run into a number of hardships. She scored a total of 11 points on 5-for-9 FG shooting in the Wings’ games against the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, and she even had to sit out her team’s home opener due to a knee injury.
Over the past two games, however, Fudd started getting her groove. Against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday, the no. 1 draft pick put up 12 points, going 2-for-2 on her attempts from deep and committing just a single turnover in 28 minutes of action. Despite Fudd’s signs of improvement, fans still couldn’t help but call out her court general Paige Bueckers and the Wings in general for not helping her enough on offense.
“Paige keeps the ball away from Azzi. Start telling the truth.”
“Her coach is her biggest opp”
“Now get her more touches”
“Everybody except Paige stans see that Paige doesn’t want Azzi to shine. Paige will not pass to Azzi and keeps the ball far away from her. P had zero assists to Azzi, yet Jess had 4?”
“6 shot attempts is disgraceful. She should b getting 11-12 a night. Way too reliant on Paige and Arike to the point where a lead u once had can b gone cuz you don’t know how to play outside of those 2. Azzi needs to also touch almost every play like it should b that obvious”
“She was sitting on the corner drinking tea, waiting for someone to pass her the ball! You call that a great game? Be serious. I know how Azzi plays; I’ve followed her for years, and Dallas is sabotaging her talent.”
For what it’s worth, the Wings have won three out of the four games that Azzi Fudd has played in thus far this season. And they’ve been able to win back-to-back outings when Fudd has scored in double figures.
Still, Fudd and the rest of the Wings have several more games to figure out how to maximize one another’s talent. When they finally crack the code, they’ll be in good position to shoot their shot for the playoffs.
“I Just Want to Help the Team Win”: Azzi Fudd Shuns Notion of Needing Heavy Minutes to Make “Impact” for Wings
After a full season of leading the fearsome UConn squad, Azzi Fudd has now had to transition to a bench role in her first few weeks with the Wings.
In a pre-game interview prior to the game against the Sky, Fudd made it clear that heavy minutes are not a prerequisite for her to make significant contributions to her team.
“When I go in the game, I just want to make an impact. Doesn’t matter how many minutes it is, I just want to help the team win.”
Fudd has yet to land a starting role in her WNBA career, but it’s only a matter of time before the 2025 NCAA Women’s Most Outstanding Player gets there.