WNBA Presser Turns Awkward When Draft Pick Is Asked About Joining Reported Girlfriend On Team
A question about the state of the relationship between Dallas Wings draft choice Azzi Fudd and teammate Paige Bueckers got shut down at a press conference on Thursday.
The two won a national championship together at the University of Connecticut in April 2025, and Bueckers confirmed their relationship on TikTok a few months later.
But the news that Dallas chose to reunite the couple after picking Fudd No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft got sidestepped.
“Paige (Bueckers) announced last year on TikTok that ya’ll were a couple,” a reporter said to Fudd at the gathering. “And I’m wondering if that’s still the case, and if so, have ya’ll talked to any other couples in the league about how they negotiate that dynamic as pro teammates?”
“I understand why you have to ask that question,” Wings communications officer Pam Flenke interjected. “But we are going to respectfully decline from commenting on a player’s personal life.”
A reporter asked Azzi Fudd about her relationship with Paige Bueckers, but the Wings’ media team said they won’t be commenting on their players’ personal lives. pic.twitter.com/iH3enGfoVE
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 16, 2026
Several stories about the draft avoided the romantic storyline, Jeff Pearlman noted on TikTok:
“Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are in a long-term relationship, and nobody’s mentioning it. And the WNBA clearly has asked people not to mention it. And it’s very journalistically confusing to me.
“Like, it is fascinating that these two people who have been dating for a long time, dating back to college, would be the starting backcourt for a team. To me, that is actually the No. 1 piece of this story. It’s not just that they drafted Azzi Fudd, they drafted Azzi Fudd to play with her longtime partner, Paige Bueckers.”
The Dallas Morning News’ Kevin Sherrington, who said he asked the question that got shot down, called out the league and the team for a double standard in a column.
“Before you say the media should stay out of athletes’ personal lives, you should know we butt in all the time,” he wrote. “The vast majority of stories draw few objections. As Dak Prescott and Dirk Nowitzki and any number of Dallas superstars over the years will tell you, we write about the love lives of male athletes, too. Because your personal life can impact your professional life. So if it’s good enough for male athletes, shouldn’t it be the same for female athletes playing on the same team?”
HuffPost reached out to Fudd, Flenke and the WNBA for comment.
Fudd, left, and Bueckers posed for a photo during the WNBA draft on April 13.
Melanie Fidler via Getty Images
