ARLINGTON, Texas — On her first true day as a WNBA player, Azzi Fudd got a simple instruction from her head coach — shoot the damn ball.
Jose Fernandez didn’t wait long to get on the No. 1 overall pick about it, saying Sunday he had to yell at her during the opening session of Dallas Wings training camp for passing on open shots in actions designed to get her looks. Fudd, who led the Big East in three-point percentage in each of her last two seasons at UConn, said she’s heard the message before.
“I had to yell at her and tell her, ‘Don’t pass up open shots,'” Fernandez said. “Especially in some of the actions we’re going to run for her, she better shoot the damn ball if she’s open.”
Fernandez said he wants her to attack those opportunities unless a specific situation dictates otherwise.
“That’s what she does,” Fernandez said. “She can’t pass up open shots. There are situations where the floor isn’t balanced or rebounding opportunities aren’t there, and we’ll talk about those, but she needs to do what she was brought here to do and space the floor.”
The Résumé Behind the Directive
Fudd shot 44.7% from three on 6.7 attempts per game as a fifth-year senior in 2025-26, finishing at 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while leading the Big East in three-point percentage for the second consecutive year. She also shot 48.1% overall and 95.5% from the free-throw line en route to first team AP All-American honors. Her career mark at UConn sits at 42.2% from three on 6.0 attempts per game across 115 games.
Fudd said the coaching reminder has been a recurring theme throughout her career.
“That seems to be a common trend,” Fudd said. “I share the love, but remembering to shoot when I’m open, my teammates remind me of that. It’ll be an easy adjustment.”
She framed the adjustment as something that helps her team, not just herself. If she’s not taking the shots she needs, it negatively impacts the offense. But the more she lets it fly and makes the defense pay, her teammates will benefit from having space to attack.
“As long as I’m being aggressive, that helps the team,” Fudd said. “When I change my mindset and remember that being aggressive helps the team, it makes a difference. If I’m passing up open shots, the defense can play off me. But if I’m a threat, they have to guard me and respect me, and it opens things up for other people.”
A Spacing Boost for a Team That Needed It
Paige Bueckers, Fudd’s former UConn teammate and now her backcourt partner in Dallas, offered the same assessment when asked what Fudd brings to a winning team.
“She’s a 40-plus percent three-point shooter, so her spacing alone helps us,” Bueckers said. “She brings versatility and makes a big impact on both ends.”
The fit addresses a clear need. Dallas finished 12th in the WNBA in three-point percentage last season at 30.4% and hit just 6.6 threes per game on 21.6 attempts, ranking near the bottom of the league in both efficiency and volume from distance. Dropping a career 42% shooter into a rotation with Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, Maddy Siegrist, Alanna Smith, and Jessica Shepard gives Fernandez the kind of floor spacing the Wings were missing a year ago.
“It’s only day one, but I got a chance to have the ball in my hands a little bit and also play on the wing,” Fudd said. “Whatever the team needs, I’m going to do it.”
