Azzi Fudd Out At Minnesota Lynx As Dallas Wings Enter Their Final Stretch

MINNEAPOLIS — Dallas Wings rookie guard Azzi Fudd will not play Sunday against the Minnesota Lynx because of a right knee injury. Dallas had listed her as questionable on Saturday’s game status report.

Sunday is her third absence of the season. Fudd missed the home opener in May with a knee injury, then played 30 in a row before Friday, when she went through warmups at American Airlines Center and felt soreness in the right knee. Her 31.7 minutes a night are second on the Wings behind Paige Bueckers.

Dallas Wings Have 11 Games And An 18-Day Break Left

Sunday closes a stretch of six games in 12 days that opened July 29 against the Atlanta Dream. Dallas plays 11 more times after it.

Seven of those come in a 19-day window. The Wings host the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday, travel to the Indiana Fever on August 14, play at the Golden State Valkyries on August 17, then close the month with four straight at home against Indiana on August 20, the Seattle Storm on August 23, the Portland Fire on August 25, and the Connecticut Sun on August 30.

Then the season stops. The WNBA pauses from September 4 through September 13 for the FIBA World Cup in Berlin, where Bueckers will play for Team USA and Wings coach Jose Fernandez will serve as a scout on the staff. Dallas does not play again until September 17 against the Los Angeles Sparks, an 18-day gap between games. Four contests follow the break, two of them against the Phoenix Mercury.

The Aug. 20 game against Indiana is the third and final Wings home date at American Airlines Center this season.

Jose Fernandez On Accountability After Four Losses In Five

Fernandez said Friday that the problem in the 94-76 loss to Golden State was rotations and effort, and that he has a room of professionals who understand what is at stake.

“No, I think confidence is great, but you know, we also gotta take individual accountability along with that confidence,” Fernandez said. “I mean, they gotta get on each other a little bit more, you know? It can’t just be the coaching staff. So you can breed all the confidence you want, but, I mean, get down and defend, keep your guy in front of you. Have multiple efforts. Shot goes up, block out.”

Dallas has lost four of its last five. Fernandez said he does not see a single common thread running through them, then named one.

“The common thread is we’re fouling too much, that’s number one,” Fernandez explained. “Teams are shooting way more free throws than we are.”

Dallas did reach the line 38 times Friday, a season high and its most in a game since 2022. Fernandez said the Wings missed 11 of them and shot 33% from the floor and 28% from 3-point range.

Aziaha James started in Fudd’s place Friday and scored 13 points. The 12th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft is averaging 5.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists across 29 games in her second season.

Where The Dallas Wings Sit In The Western Conference

Dallas enters Sunday at 19-13 and fourth in the West. Minnesota is 26-7 and has clinched a playoff berth. Golden State is 22-9, and Las Vegas is 22-10, which puts the Wings three games back of third place with 12 to play.

Behind them, the Sparks are 12-18, Portland is 12-19, and Phoenix is 12-21.

Minnesota has won all three meetings this season and seven straight in the series dating to August 30, 2024. The Lynx beat the Las Vegas Aces 98-87 at home Saturday afternoon, with Olivia Miles scoring 26 points and Napheesa Collier adding 22.

Tip-off at Target Center is set for 2:30 p.m. CT, with NBC carrying the game nationally and Peacock streaming it.