Paige Bueckers says her relationship with teammate Azzi Fudd is private, and she wants it kept that way. The Dallas Wings guard addressed the subject Monday at team media day, days after Fudd was introduced in Dallas and questions about the pair's relationship were cut off by a team public relations staffer.
Bueckers said she and Fudd are reuniting as teammates after both reached the top of the draft. Bueckers was the No. 1 pick in 2025, and Fudd went No. 1 earlier this month in the 2026 WNBA Draft. The two publicly announced in July 2025 that they were dating, but Bueckers said the attention around that fact should stop at the edge of the locker room.
“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,” Bueckers said Monday. She added that if the topic comes up again, she will refer back to those comments or shift the discussion to her teammates. “We’ve been doing this for a long time, we have countless reps at it,” she said.
The issue has drawn more attention because the pair are back together as teammates after winning a national championship at UConn in 2025, and because both arrived in Dallas as No. 1 picks. Bueckers said Fudd earned the selection on her own, pointing to her identity as a person and a player, her resilience, her strength and a career-best year at UConn. “Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me,” Bueckers said, adding that the move had everything to do with Fudd's play and growth.
That leaves Dallas with two players whose bond is already a talking point and whose job now is to turn that spotlight into wins. Bueckers said she and Fudd have long experience separating their personal and professional lives, have never let what happens off the court affect what happens on it, and will keep showing up to do their jobs and help the Wings win basketball games.