Rusty Weiss
Veteran sports journalist Jeff Pearlman has sharply criticized WNBA media coverage following the Dallas Wings‘ selection of Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 Draft.
In a TikTok video, Pearlman highlighted what he alleges is a near-total silence around Fudd’s long-term romantic relationship with teammate Paige Bueckers, the star guard the Wings drafted in 2025.
He described the reunion of the former UConn Huskies stars—both on the court and in their personal lives—as “the number one piece of this story,” arguing that drafting Fudd effectively created a starting backcourt of longtime partners.
“Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are in a long-term relationship, and nobody’s mentioning it. And the WNBA clearly has asked people not to mention it. And it’s very journalistically confusing to me,” he said.
“Like, it is fascinating that these two people who have been dating for a long time, dating back to college, would be the starting backcourt for a team. To me, that is actually the number one piece of this story. It’s not just that they drafted Azzi Fudd, they drafted Azzi Fudd to play with her longtime partner, Paige Bueckers.”
@jeffpearlmanauthor Why is the media not covering Azzi Fudd and Page Bueckers in a journalistic manner? #wnba #azzifudd #pagebueckers #dallaswings ♬ original sound – Jeff Pearlman
Pearlman Calls Out Journalistic “Blackout” on Fudd-Bueckers Romance After Dallas Draft Reunion
Pearlman framed the situation as an “amazing” tale of young love and on-court chemistry, while acknowledging the risk of pairing romantic partners in a high-stakes professional environment.
The relationship between Bueckers and Fudd, who played together at UConn and publicly confirmed their romance in 2025, has drawn limited mainstream attention despite Bueckers attending the draft to support Fudd. One outlet, People magazine, did reference it directly in its draft coverage. Even in the headline.
“Either the agents of these players or the league itself is telling reporters, if you want access, do not mention this. Don’t bring it up,” Pearlman added.
“I actually think it’s more of an unfair judgment of women, not to mention it. Like, why is this taboo? Why are two women in a relationship even remotely taboo in 2026? It shouldn’t be at all.”
Fudd was, by no stretch of the imagination, a guaranteed number-one pick in the WNBA draft, which makes one wonder whether the deciding factor for the Wings was to make their star, Bueckers, happy.
Any media blackout is almost assuredly not about the relationship itself. The WNBA and ESPN would be thrilled to highlight the couple.
In reality, some critics maintain that the Fudd selection has shades of the Los Angeles Lakers drafting Bronny James to placate LeBron situation. Except Fudd is a legitimate WNBA player, whereas Bronny isn’t anywhere near NBA-caliber. And Dallas likely doesn’t want to share the embarrassment of being manipulated into a particular draft pick, as the Lakers were.
