Women's Fastbreak On SI

UConn Fans Dream of Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd on Same WNBA Team After Wings Trade

A blockbuster trade has opened the door (slightly) for UConn Huskies stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd to play on the same WNBA team.

Grant Young

Dec 7, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) and Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Azzi Fudd (35) and Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrate after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Boland-Imagn Images / Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

An absolutely massive trade went down in the WNBA on Friday evening.

News of this trade started with an announcement that former Dallas Wings star guard Satou Sabally had been traded to the Phoenix Mercury. From there, further details of the trade conveyed that Sabally, Kalani Brown, and Sevgi Uzun (all of whom were on the Dallas Wings) would be going to the Mercury.

Dallas will receive Tyasha Harris from the Mercury, along with NaLyssa Smith and the No. 8 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. As for the Fever, they have secured Mercury sharpshooter Sophie Cunningham and the No. 19 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Of course, the Wings also hold the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, which will almost certainly be UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers. Therefore, they now have that No. 1 pick and the No. 8 pick.

Bueckers' UConn teammate Azzi Fudd may also be entering the WNBA Draft after this season and is projected to be a top-10 pick. Therefore, some Huskies fans are forecasting that this trade could open the door for these two to reunite on the Dallas Wings.

X user @bueckers__ responded to a post of the aforementioned wrote and wrote, "PAUSE wings are getting #1 and #8?? i’m thinking thoughts rn... not gonna say what those thoughts are but they’re definitely being thunk".

While this user didn't say it specifically, they're surely alluding to the possibility of Bueckers and Fudd playing together once again in Dallas.

And this sentiment was expressed by other fans; one of whom was @behindtheWarc, who posted a picture of Fudd and Bueckers and wrote, "Hold up the Dallas Wings are getting the first and eighth pick… could we be seeing Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd on the same WNBA team?!"

A third fan noted, "The wings just traded for the 8th pick to draft Azzi Fudd. Ensuring that Paige Bueckers would be ok with playing in Dallas".

For what it's worth, it seems unlikely that Fudd will fall all the way to No. 8 in the draft. But it's not impossible.

Recommended Reading:

- Paige Bueckers Addresses Potentially Being Picked First by Dallas Wings in WNBA Draft

- Azzi Fudd Laughs Off Paige Bueckers' Animated Bench Presence Amid UConn Blowout Win

- Fever Land Sophie Cunningham, Move NaLyssa Smith in Satou Sabally to Mercury Trade

Published |Modified
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

Home/News