Azzi Fudd's breakup with Paige Bueckers sparks fresh questions about her WNBA future and Dallas Wings connection

Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are no longer together, and they say the split happened more than a year ago. The Dallas Wings teammates shared it on November 6 during an episode of Fudd’s podcast, “Fudd Around and Find Out.” The timing is the real news. They broke up before Dallas took Fudd first overall in April, and before they shared a locker room for the 2026 season. Bueckers also dismissed any idea that their relationship shaped the pick. Neither player shared details about why it ended, and Fudd made clear the rest stays private.Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers confirm breakup on podcastBoth laughed at the start, but Fudd kept it blunt. “We are no longer together. I don’t know how else to say that,” she said. Bueckers gave the timeline. “It’s been over a year.”Then she took on the draft chatter. “We were not together before she got drafted, so all of those narratives can go to bed,” Bueckers said. “She was not drafted because she was my girlfriend. She was drafted because she deserved it.” That second line matters because Dallas never answered the question when it first came up. At Fudd’s introductory press conference in April, a reporter asked if the two were still a couple. Wings public relations cut in before Fudd could speak.The online noise pushed them to speak. “We’ve seen a lot of negativity. We’ve seen a lot of hate,” Bueckers said, and she added that messages had reached their families and friends. Her explanation for the split was short. “Sometimes in life, there’s just seasons.”What the breakup means for Fudd and the WingsThe split did not hurt the basketball. Fudd averaged 13.1 points as a rookie, fourth among first-year players, and shot 39.7 percent from three. That shooting gives Bueckers more room to work. Bueckers made her second straight All-Star team.Dallas won a franchise-record 27 games and made the playoffs for the first time in three years. The Wings then lost in the first round to Golden State, which went on to win the title. Because the breakup came before the season, the team played every game with two former No. 1 picks who were no longer a couple. That makes this a fair test, and the results held up. It also makes them the first college teammates to go first overall in back-to-back drafts since Tina Charles in 2010 and Maya Moore in 2011.Bueckers said both will eventually move on and see other people. Until then, the work comes first. “We’re the utmost professional. We care about basketball, and we’re still friends,” she said. Fudd had a request for fans too: “we don’t need messages on what the other person is doing.”For Dallas, 2027 comes down to basketball. Can Fudd keep shooting near 40 percent in year two? How much better can two guards get with a full season of reps together?Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.