The Dallas Wings were trailing by seven points entering the fourth quarter against the Chicago Sky on Sunday. Down, but not done. What followed was a 30-18 closing run that sealed a 96-91 win, their fifth straight victory, and the kind of statement that legitimate contenders make. At the center of the comeback was a rookie who keeps adding to her already growing legacy.
Azzi Fudd has become the fastest player since 2002 to reach 40 three-pointers and 40 steals in WNBA history, achieving the milestone in just 23 games, according to Real App. The only player to reach that threshold faster was Tamika Catchings, who did it in 19 games during her legendary rookie season that same year.
Against the Sky, Fudd finished with 16 points, three assists, and two steals. She hit a clutch three-pointer with 3:42 remaining to tie the game at 86, capping a 14-6 Dallas run that flipped the momentum entirely. On the ensuing possession, she blocked Sydney Taylor’s shot to keep the Wings in front. In the span of 90 seconds, she scored the tying basket and made the defensive play that preserved the lead.
Dallas head coach Jose Fernandez has watched this all season and is not surprised.
He said of his rookie, “She usually guards the other team’s best offensive player. The way that she anticipates and gets her hands on the ball; she’s active, and she walls up, and she gets blocks. I think she does a lot of things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
Those things show up in the record books, though. Azzi Fudd leads all WNBA guards with 1.0 block per game and ranks fourth in the entire league with 1.8 steals per contest. She also became the fastest guard in WNBA history to record 50 combined steals and blocks, reaching that mark on June 29.
What makes Azzi Fudd’s defensive impact more striking is that it arrived alongside a genuine offensive contribution. She is averaging 13.6 points per game and shooting 38.4% from three-point range. Since entering the starting lineup in her eighth game, her scoring average climbed to 14.9 points per game, making her the team’s second-highest scorer behind Paige Bueckers. She set a Wings rookie record earlier this season with six three-pointers in a single game against New York on May 24. The No. 1 overall pick is doing what No. 1 overall picks are supposed to do.
Azzi Fudd herself has explained the defensive approach in clear terms.
“I think defense is effort, and also I think it’s such an easy way to be able to have defense lead into offense as well,” she said. “I feel like this is something I can control. I can’t control everything on the floor, but my effort that I give out there is one that hopefully people always see.”
Bueckers, who knows Fudd’s game better than anyone after their time together at UConn, said the defensive output has been the biggest adjustment surprise of Fudd’s rookie season.
“She’s always had really great hands; like, she’s very handsy, she gets deflections, she gets steals, she gets blocks, and she’s really physical on that end of the floor,” Bueckers said.
Azzi Fudd’s Historic Start Puts Dallas In Position To Make WNBA History Of Their Own
The Wings are now 16-8, riding their longest winning streak since 2023. The wins are coming in different ways, which is the sign of a team with real depth and real belief. Against Chicago, Bueckers had 22 points and 11 assists. Jessica Shepard added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Arike Ogunbowale scored 17 and delivered eight points in the fourth quarter when the Wings needed them most. Li Yueru came off the bench to produce 10 points and 10 rebounds after Alanna Smith went down with a lower leg injury in the first half. On a night when one piece went missing, five others stepped forward.
Fudd’s milestone matters beyond the individual record. If she wins Rookie of the Year, Dallas would become just the fourth franchise in league history to produce back-to-back ROY awardees, joining the Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Indiana Fever.
The 2026 WNBA Draft produced a class headlined by enormous expectations. Azzi Fudd has met them on both ends of the floor, in just 23 games, in ways the league has not seen since Tamika Catchings walked into a gym and rewrote the rookie standard.
