Azzi Fudd showed exactly why she was drafted as the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Wings in the team's game against the New York Liberty Sunday. The Wings beat the Liberty 91-76 at the team's home court in Brookly, but Fudd was the real star of the show.
Fudd's performance was so commanding that at one point in the third quarter she had outscored the Liberty entirely by herself — a pretty powerful moment, considering Sabrina Ionescu was back on the floor and Satou Sabally had 20 points of her own. But Fudd seemed entirely unwilling to back down, and perhaps the reason why is obvious: she's beginning to arrive just when the Wings need her to.
Transitioning to the WNBA isn't always seamless, nor is it something that's predictable. Some players take longer than others; some players can hit the ground running, and others need to ease into it. There's no wrong or right way to play your first-ever professional basketball games, but the expectations on Fudd have been incredibly high.
The 17 points Fudd scored in the third quarter actually tied her with Caitlin Clark for the most points scored in a quarter this season. Fudd is also now tied for the second-most threes made in a quarter ever, by any player in the WNBA — not just rookies. She also broke the Wings' record for the most threes in a game (six) by a rookie.
Azzi Fudd will need to keep performing
Now that Wings fans have seen what she can do, it's up to Fudd to continue to perform for the team. Sunday's game offered a glimpse at what Fudd, Paige Bueckers, and Arike Ogunbowale might look like in the longterm for Dallas, and it's a good look. Fudd wasn't brought on to the team to necessarily be the leading shooter or scorer, but she's a more than solid role player who knows exactly how to support her teammates and lead to an overall collective win that everyone can feel good about.
In fact, Fudd's elite ability to contribute when she's needed to is one of her most underrated qualities. She might not have seemed like the clear-cut number one pick to a lot of people this season, but if she has consistent performances like this one, the reason the Wings seleted her will start to become abundantly clear.
Fudd is part of a draft class that's also included strong performances from Olivia Miles for the Minnesota Lynx and Flau'jae Johnson for the Seattle Storm. There's a lot of basketball left to play this season, and it'll be truly exciting to see what she ends up doing.
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