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Alexa Philippou: Breaking: Azzi Fudd has been selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings. The seventh No. 1 pick from the UConn Huskies
The No. 1 pick on Monday will earn $500,000 in her first season, significantly higher than the $78,831 earned by Paige Bueckers, last year’s top pick. For the second year in a row, that pick belongs to the Dallas Wings. The No. 2 pick, heading to the Minnesota Lynx, will earn $466,913, and the No. 3 pick, going to the Seattle Storm, will get $436,016. All drafted players who end up making a team will earn more than any WNBA player did last year. The league’s minimum $270,000 salary, which second- and third-round picks would earn if they make a roster after training camp, is higher than last year’s maximum salary of $249,244.
WNBA free agency this year had the makings of a high-octane, drama-filled blockbuster. Instead, it’s shaping up to be nothing more than a blip. More than 100 players are set to become free agents as a result of most veterans signing contracts that expired following the 2025 season in anticipation of a new collective bargaining agreement. But after CBA negotiations carried on for more than 15 months, ultimately leading to a deal being reached in March, free agency was put on hold. Now, the league’s 15 general managers will have no more than two weeks to fill out their rosters, with free agency dates still not set by the league and training camp opening on April 19. “A lot of decisions will have to be done relatively quickly,” New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “I think GMs have been working for a really long time, though.” Teams can’t officially negotiate with free agents yet. Players, meanwhile, have had less to say when it comes to their recruitment efforts. “I don’t know if I can answer that,” Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers said when asked about her efforts to woo impending free agents at USA Basketball camp. “But I’m friendly with everyone.”
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It has been a poorly kept secret for quite some time that Paige Bueckers is in a relationship with one of her former teammates, but the Dallas Wings star has now officially confirmed it. During an event on Thursday in advance of the WNBA’s All-Star weekend, Bueckers was asked by WAG Talk to play a game called “how well do you know your D1 girlfriend?” The No. 1 overall pick agreed, and it quickly became clear that she and UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd are dating. Bueckers answered all of the questions fairly easily, which suggests she and Fudd have been together for quite a while.
The crew will be joined throughout the night by Mavs legends Rolando Blackman, Nick Van Exel, Josh Howard and Dallas’ No. 1 pick on the 1981 draft Mark Aguirre. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA draft, and more surprise guests will be included throughout the evening.
Maggie Hendricks: Dallas Wings just announced that Paige Bueckers will miss the next two games because she was placed in the WNBA concussion protocol. That is a bummer. She was getting treatment for a while after the game last night.
The Mavericks have yet to publicly broadcast this position with loud volume, but all the behind-the-scenes whispers continue to suggest that they will refuse to entertain the idea of fielding trade offers for the No. 1 overall pick in the June 25 draft. .... The Mavericks have yet to publicly broadcast this position with loud volume, but all the behind-the-scenes whispers continue to suggest that they will refuse to entertain the idea of fielding trade offers for the No. 1 overall pick in the June 25 draft. It's an opportunity, materialized almost exactly a month after the WNBA's Dallas Wings drafted UConn star Paige Bueckers. that can't be squandered. When I asked a source close to the process last week if the Mavericks trading away the ability to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg away would be considered, I was emphatically told: "No chance." "No ... not even for Giannis," said another source briefed on the team's thinking.
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Kendra Andrews: BREAKING: the Phoenix Mercury are acquiring Satou Sabally from the Dallas Wings in three-team trade, sources tell me and @Alexa Philippou. One of the top free agents, Sabally made her desire to leave Dallas known, but because she is a cored player it had to be done via trade.
Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores submitted a bid for the city to receive a WNBA franchise, sources told Yahoo Sports. The Detroit Shock were a big part of early WNBA history, winning championships in 2003, 2006 and 2008 before moving to Tulsa in 2010 — and before being rebranded as the Dallas Wings. The Shock set single-game records for attendance in the 2003 WNBA Finals as 22,076 fans filled the Palace of Auburn Hills to see Game 3 against the Los Angeles Sparks, and they matched that mark again in the 2007 Finals. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever set the single-game regular-season record against the Washington Mystics this past season with 20,711.
The WNBA last season had its most-watched regular season in 24 years and its best attendance in 22 seasons. Some of the league's most popular players currently are competing in a new 3-on-3 league in South Florida called Unrivaled, founded by Olympic gold medalists Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. ''We carry this on for him,'' said Satou Sabally, a forward with the WNBA's Dallas Wings who plays for the Phantom squad in Unrivaled. ''He would be so proud of this league. He would be proud of 'Phe and Stewie. I know that he's looking down and hopefully he's smiling and is proud of us.''
The WNBA — coming off one of its most successful years ever in terms of attendance and attention — had 12 teams this season; seven of those teams currently do not have coaches. The Dallas Wings are about to hire their fourth coach in seven seasons. The Atlanta Dream made the playoffs; they let Tanisha Wright go anyway. The Indiana Fever, with Caitlin Clark coming off her record-setting rookie year, fired Christie Sides over the weekend after a 1-8 start was turned around into a playoff berth. And on Monday, the Connecticut Sun and coach Stephanie White parted ways after back-to-back trips to the WNBA semifinals.