Paige Bueckers drew a line in the sand with Dallas media members, declaring that questions about her relationship with fellow No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd are off limits. The Wings star opened her April 26 media day press conference with a statement that left no room for interpretation.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers said. She made clear she would address the topic just once. “If we continue to get asked about it, we will refer to this moment in time, or we will use the time to deflect and talk about our teammates .”
The statement came 11 days after a tense moment at Fudd’s introductory press conference. Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Sherrington asked Fudd about her relationship with Bueckers, referencing a TikTok where Bueckers confirmed they were a couple. A Wings spokesperson immediately stepped in.
“I understand why you have to ask that question, but we’re gonna respectfully decline from commenting on any of our players’ personal lives,” the team spokesperson said.
Sherrington later defended the question, suggesting the Wings mishandled the situation. “If anyone’s at fault here, it’s the Wings, who acted as if they were covering for something that didn’t need hiding,” he wrote.
Bueckers used her media day statement to redirect attention where she believes it belongs: on Fudd’s basketball achievements. She emphasized that Azzi Fudd’s personal life narrative has overshadowed why Dallas drafted her in the first place.
“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me,” Bueckers stated. “It had everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player, her resilience, her strength, and her career-best year at UConn.”
Bueckers acknowledged the media’s need to ask basketball questions but drew a hard boundary around anything off-court. She noted that she and Fudd are not new to handling pressure alongside their personal dynamic.
“Me and Azzi have always been the utmost professionals,” Bueckers said. “We’ve never let anything that happens off the court carry onto the court, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
The Wings open their preseason on the road against the Indiana Fever on April 30.
