The Dallas Wings announced recently that Azzi Fudd, who was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick in this year's WNBA Draft, will miss the rest of the season. Fudd missed several games due to soreness in her right knee, and announced she will undergo an arthroscopic procedure to evaluate and treat the problem.
Unfortunately for Fudd, right knee problems aren't anything new. She's previously torn both her ACL and her meniscus in the same knee in 2023 — and that came after she torn the ACL and MCL in that same knee in 2019. If that sounds like a lot of knee injuries, you're correct, and no one is more aware of that than Fudd herself.
In some ways, her past injuries are allowing Fudd to accept her current knee problems with grace. Or, at least, that seems to be the idea: As she wrote in an Instagram Story this week, "I know exactly what comes next: rehab, put in the work, come back ready and better than before."
Fudd averaged 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals this season, and was the only rookie who posed a threat to Olivia Miles' almost guaranteed Rookie of the Year nod this season. She ranked fourth in terms of rookie scoring, and first in 3-pointers made by rookies. She also won the 3-point contest at this year's All-Star Game in Chicago.
Her years at UConn were marked by those injuries, and she appeared in 42 games during her first three years with the program — a far cry from the number she and the program expected. But Fudd never lost sight of her goals, and she found a way to come back to top form each time.
Though she could have left the program in 2025 alongside teammates Paige Bueckers, Kaitlyn Chen, and Aubrey Griffin, Fudd elected to take advantage of her fifth year of eligibility, and the continue to work on her game under Geno Auriemma. That proved to be the right call, especially after Fudd was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick this year.
The news is a blow for the Wings, who have struggled since returning from the All-Star break at the end of July. Dallas is hoping to make it into the playoffs this season, and still has a strong shot at doing so. The team is currently ranked 8th in the league, and have five wins over the 9th team, the Portland Fire.
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