Wings take Azzi Fudd with top WNBA draft pick in reunion for Paige Bueckers

Nypost · Apr 13, 2026 · 723 words · By Madeline Kenney

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What to know about Wings take Azzi Fudd with top WNBA draft pick in reunion for Paige Bueckers

Azzi Fudd struggled to put Monday night into words.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Azzi Fudd struggled to put Monday night into words.

Why it matters

Fudd dreamt for years that she would one day hear her name called in the WNBA draft.

Common ground

She knew there was a strong chance she could hear her name called with the No.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Wings take Azzi Fudd with top WNBA draft pick in reunion for Paige Bueckers?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA draft?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/13/sports/wings-take-azzi-fudd-with-top-wnba-draft-pi…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8

schedule Pending 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA draft.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Azzi Fudd is a player for the Dallas Wings and that she was involved in the 2026 WNBA draft context. Cross-references and Wikipedia entries confirm her association with the Dallas Wings and UConn.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s draft for the 2026 season was held following the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. This was the first draft for the league's two …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_WNBA_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Azzi Jazlyn Fudd ( AY-zee; born November 11, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketba…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azzi_Fudd

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Weste…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Wings

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “Azzi Fudd will earn a base salary this year of $500,000 — a massive leap from 2025 top pick Paige Bueckers’ salary of $78,831.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results provide specific salary figures: Azzi Fudd's 2026 salary of $500K and Paige Bueckers' 2025 salary of $78,831, making the comparison accurate based on the evidence.

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web search NEUTRAL — Fudd’s 2026 salary: $500K. Bueckers’ 2025 salary: $78,831. And Bueckers was Rookie of the Year in the league.Still, she missed out on some serious coin in 2025 compared to Fudd. Now, the two will shar…
https://www.si.com/onsi/athlete-lifestyle/business/azzi-fudd…

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web search NEUTRAL — Azzi Jazlyn Fudd is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association. She played college basketball for the UConn Huskies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azzi_Fudd

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web search NEUTRAL — Comparing her rookie salary with girlfriend Paige Bueckers. Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers.The comparison becomes striking when looking at Bueckers’ entry into the league just a year earlier. As the No.…
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/nba/top-stories/w…

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Claim 3: “The average first-year salary for the first-round picks is $386,000, which dwarfs last year’s average of $75,000.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was gathered regarding the average first-year salary for first-round picks in the 2026 WNBA draft class or any comparison to 2025 salaries.

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Claim 4: “The Minnesota Lynx picked former TCU guard Olivia Miles with the No. 2 pick.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results confirm that the Minnesota Lynx selected Olivia Miles with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Olivia Rose Miles (born January 29, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Miles

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Lynx

+ 4 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 5: “The 2026 WNBA draft marks the league’s 30th season.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “The Chicago Sky picked Gabriela Jaquez No. 5 overall before the Toronto Tempo took guard Kiki Rice sixth.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Gabriela Jaquez was selected by the Chicago Sky with the No. 5 pick, and that Kiki Rice was selected sixth by the Toronto Tempo.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Chicago Sky selected guard Gabriela Jaquez with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 WNBA draft, taking a swing on a member of UCLA's national championship team.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/13/chicago-sky-2026-w…

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web search NEUTRAL — 2026 WNBA Draft results, grades for every first-round pick: Azzi Fudd goes No. 1, UCLA makes history While Fudd became the second straight UConn star to go No. 1 to the Wings, UCLA stole the show ...
https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/2026-wnba-draft-updates-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Washington Mystics selected Betts with No. 4 pick while Jaquez went No. 5 overall to the Chicago Sky. Rice will join the expansion team, the Toronto Tempo, after being selected with the No. 6 ...
https://abc7.com/post/wnba-draft-2026-lauren-betts-gabriela-…

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Claim 7: “Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers led the Huskies to the national championship that season.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly state that Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers led UConn to the national championship in the 2024-25 season.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024–25 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season, winning the national championship. The…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_UConn_Huskies_women's_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Paige Madison Bueckers ( BEK-ərz; born October 20, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Breeze of Unri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paige_Bueckers

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 8: “The Wings selecting Fudd reunites her with her former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers, the top pick of last year’s class.”

VERIFIED

Multiple sources confirm that both Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers played for UConn and are both associated with the Dallas Wings. While the claim specifies Paige Bueckers was the top pick of last year's class, the evidence strongly links them as UConn teammates and current Wings players, which supports the premise of the reunion.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “The 2026 draft class is the first group to reap the benefits of the new collective bargaining agreement.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results state that the 2026 WNBA Draft class was the first to benefit from the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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web search NEUTRAL — The WNBA's new collective bargaining agreement has ushered in record-breaking rookie salaries. The 2026 WNBA draft class will entering the league as the highest-earning group of rookies to date ...
https://www.blackenterprise.com/wnba-2026-draft-picks-highes…

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web search NEUTRAL — The 2026 WNBA draft class will entering the league as the highest-earning group of rookies to date. Following a landmark collective bargaining agreement signed in March that grants players revenue sha…
https://www.newsbreak.com/black-enterprise-512642/4593806447…

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web search NEUTRAL — The 2026 WNBA Draft, held April 13 at The Shed at Hudson Yards, was the first conducted under the league's transformational new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The result is a draft class that will e…
https://www.theathleap.com/the-2026-wnba-draft-class-will-be…

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Claim 10: “Lauren Betts was drafted No. 4 to the Washington Mystics.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the Washington Mystics selected Lauren Betts with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.

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web search NEUTRAL — Lauren Betts didn't have to wait long to hear WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert call her name. The 6-foot-7 center out of UCLA was selected fourth overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2026 ...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/draft/2026/04/13/…

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web search NEUTRAL — UCLA set a record with five players selected in the first round of the WNBA draft and six overall. Lauren Betts was first off the board, getting selected at No. 4 by the Washington Mystics ...
https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2026-04-13/lauren-…

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web search NEUTRAL — - The Washington Mystics selected Lauren Betts from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
https://mystics.wnba.com/news/washington-mystics-select-laur…

+ 1 more evidence source

schedule

Claim 11: “Flau’jae Johnson was initially selected by the Valkyries with the No. 8 pick but was later traded to the Seattle Storm.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “Awa Fam Thiam, who’s only 19, was picked No. 3 by the Seattle Storm.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that the Seattle Storm selected Awa Fam Thiam with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and that she is 19 years old.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Awa Fam Thiam (born 17 June 2006) is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously played for Valencia …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awa_Fam

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web search NEUTRAL — SEATTLE — With the No. 3 overall selection in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Seattle Storm picked Spanish center Awa Fam.
https://storm.wnba.com/news/storm-select-awa-fam-with-the-no…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Seattle Storm went to Europe for an athletic big for the second straight year, taking Awa Fam Thiam at No. 3 in the WNBA Draft on Monday.
https://sports.mynorthwest.com/wnba/seattle-storm/wnba-draft…

+ 1 more evidence source

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.