Azzi Fudd’s First Start Was Worth the Wait

Great players have a way of making belief look obvious.

Azzi Fudd has started doing exactly that.

Dallas drafted Fudd with the expectation that she could one day serve as a face of the franchise. When she was drafted, it wasn’t a question of if she’d start, but a matter of when. Last week, everything started clicking.

Four days after scoring a career-high 24 points against the New York Liberty, Fudd made her first WNBA start and offered the clearest glimpse yet of the player the franchise envisioned on draft night.

The spark began in New York when Fudd added her name to the Dallas Wings record book.

Fudd’s six made 3-pointers are a Dallas Wings rookie franchise record. Her third quarter was historic at the league level.

Fudd’s 17 points in the third quarter tied for the second-most points by a rookie in a quarter in WNBA history.

While Fudd’s record-setting night was proof enough she was breaking out, her mentality following the game offered another sign.

Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon knew Fudd had confidence coming into their game Thursday night. She just liked how comfortable Fudd looked with the ball in her hands.

“I think she’s got a little swagger out there, which I like for her,” Hammon said.

Hammon has been around long enough to know when players find that confidence in their game.

“When players get rolling and they get that confidence, which she’s gotten, they become a problem,” Hammon said.

Before the Aces faced Dallas, A’ja Wilson said Fudd’s early success was not surprising.

“I felt like she was someone that I always felt like was going to have a smooth transition because of her approach to the game,” Wilson said at shootaround. “It’s very professional. Even in college, it felt like when it came to Azzi, she was always so steady-minded. Her mental is always so tough.”

Wilson said Fudd’s adjustment to the WNBA looked like a natural extension of the habits she displayed at UConn.

“Her transition doesn’t come by any surprise by me,” Wilson said. “I think she’s doing a great job. Obviously, she’s going to have her ups and downs. That comes with being a rookie, but I think she’s handling it really well.”

Fudd believes much of that growth has come from feeling more comfortable with each game and trusting what she sees on the floor.

“I think just feeling more comfortable each game,” Fudd said. “Being aggressive, first of all. Not hesitating when I’m open. When [Jessica Shepard] and [Awak Kuier] set me great screens, not hesitating to use them.”

The breakout continued against Vegas. In her first WNBA start, Fudd scored 22 points and went 3-of-6 from deep against the Aces, helping fuel Dallas’ recent surge with another stellar performance.

The manner in which Fudd scored was the best part of her performance.

Fudd attacked whenever defenders simply declined to help on her open looks. If Vegas crowded Fudd, she beat them with superior footwork and an ability to use movement, timing and spacing to create advantages for herself.

“I think just reading what the game is giving me,” Fudd said. “I’m not ever trying to force scoring, but just being aggressive.”

Wings head coach Jose Fernandez believes Fudd’s growth has been most evident when defenses take away her initial look.

“She’s finding her spots,” Fernandez said. “She’s very confident in her shot and I think, too, her teammates find her, which they should.”

The most impressive improvement Fernandez has seen from Fudd since she came into the league is her ability to consistently get into her shot when teams crowd her after a screen.

“What I like is when people take away and they crowd her, that she can get to her spot either going right or left,” Fernandez said. “I like seeing her being so aggressive putting the ball on the deck like she has been when people defend her off a stagger, off a floppy or off a flare screen.”

Teams have to gameplan for Fudd making them pay with her elite shooting. Now they have to worry about her creating shots off the dribble.

“We just got to sometimes be a little bit more patient and let her relocate to get back there,” Fernandez said. “Like a pin-down screen so we can get her in space again.”

Against the Liberty, Fudd overwhelmed New York from beyond the arc.

Against the Aces, Fudd showed she can attack off the dribble, make the right reads when teams give her no space and score efficiently in her first professional start.

Her confidence. Her patience. Her ability to make the right reads. Her ability to punish defenses whether they leave her open or swipe at her as she’s shooting off screens.

Those are the reasons Dallas selected Fudd with the No. 1 pick.

Over the last week, Fudd looked every bit like a player ready for the moment.