The WNBA’s 30th season kicked off with a flurry of storylines, from the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever game to Caitlin Clark’s return for the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis and a dramatic Indiana vs. Dallas tilt that left Azzi Fudd facing tough questions in her Wings debut.
Friday opened the season with three contests and Saturday piled on more action, giving fans an early taste of what promises to be an electric year. Toronto’s inaugural outing grabbed attention simply because expansion teams are rare, while Caitlin Clark’s comeback after an injury-marred sophomore year had feverish eyes on Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The league is trying to balance new markets, big-name talent and evolving team identities all at once.
The Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings Saturday in a matchup that featured four of the most recent No. 1 overall draft picks squaring off. Dallas eked out a 107-104 victory in a close game that swung late and showcased both offensive bursts and defensive lapses. Stat lines looked impressive for some, but the headlines homed in on a much smaller number for the newest top pick.
Azzi Fudd, selected first overall by the Wings, played 18 minutes off the bench and finished with three points, marking the lowest scoring debut for a No. 1 pick in league history. That stat immediately drew scrutiny, even though rookies often take time to adjust to spacing, pace and the physicality of the WNBA. Expectations don’t make the grind any easier, but they do make early outings feel magnified.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez tried to put the result in context after the game, saying, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.” Fernandez’s point was clear: the Wings have depth and a patient approach to bringing a rookie along, especially one joining a crowded guard rotation. That depth creates minutes battles and forces rookies to prove themselves in bursts rather than enjoying guaranteed heavy workloads.
Dallas’ guard group reads like a who’s who of recent draft history and pro talent, featuring Paige Bueckers, fellow rookie Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and veteran Odyssey Sims alongside Fudd. That collection brings scoring versatility and playmaking, but it also means rotation minutes are precious and chemistry must be built on the fly. Coaches love options, but players need reps to find rhythm.
Before Fudd’s outing, the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a top pick belonged to Kelsey Plum, who dropped just four points in her first WNBA game after being picked No. 1 by the San Antonio Stars in 2017. Plum’s slow start didn’t define her career; she finished her rookie season on the All-Rookie team and later became a four-time All-Star and two-time champion with the Las Vegas Aces. That arc is a reminder that early box-score numbers rarely tell the whole story.
The choice to draft Fudd first overall stirred debate, partly because of questions about fit and partly because of public scrutiny about her connection to Paige Bueckers. Bueckers addressed that head-on last month, saying, “Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,”
Bueckers added another message about privacy and ownership of their relationship, saying, “Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.” Those comments were meant to draw a line between roster decisions and personal lives, but in a social-media-fueled era, lines blur fast.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft, and for now the narrative moves from personal questions back to on-court urgency. The Wings head to their home opener Tuesday to host the Atlanta Dream, a chance for Fudd and her teammates to settle nerves and for the rotation to clarify itself. Early-season games will shape minutes, roles and whether fans see that rookie ceiling sooner rather than later.
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