Azzi Fudd early ROY favorite
Betting markets make Azzi Fudd the early favorite for WNBA Rookie of the Year, with Olivia Miles and Flau’jae Johnson listed as notable alternatives in the odds. (si.com) (nbcsports.com)
Azzi Fudd is the early betting favorite for the 2026 Women’s National Basketball Association Rookie of the Year award, days after Dallas made her the No. 1 pick. (si.com) Sports Illustrated listed Fudd at +200, with Olivia Miles at +300, Awa Fam at +350, Lauren Betts at +600 and Flau’jae Johnson at +1000. Those prices were posted after the April 13 draft and before any regular-season games are played. (si.com) Dallas took Fudd first overall, Minnesota took Miles second, and Seattle ended up with Johnson after Golden State drafted her at No. 8 and traded her rights for Marta Suárez and a 2028 second-round pick. (wnba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) The Rookie of the Year market is really a bet on role and usage as much as talent. Fudd joins a Dallas backcourt with Paige Bueckers, the 2025 Rookie of the Year, while Miles could get the ball often in Minnesota and Johnson lands on a Seattle team that made an aggressive draft-night move to get her. (wnba.com) (si.com) (wnba.com) NBC Sports called Fudd an immediate fit for Dallas because she adds shooting and perimeter defense alongside Bueckers, two areas the Wings needed. That helps explain why sportsbooks moved her to the front of the award board right after the draft. (nbcsports.com) Fudd’s college résumé gives bettors a clear case. ESPN noted that she averaged 17.3 points in 2025-26, shot 48 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range, and made 117 3-pointers, the fourth-most in Connecticut history. (espn.com) Her draft slot also matters because recent Rookie of the Year races have favored players with immediate star-level minutes. Bueckers won the 2025 award for Dallas after averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 33.3 minutes across 36 games. (wnba.com) (basketball-reference.com) The calendar is moving quickly. The 2026 preseason opens April 25, Dallas plays Indiana in a preseason game on April 30, and the regular season begins May 8, with Dallas opening at Indiana on May 9. (wnba.com) That leaves the market where it usually starts in mid-April: Fudd first, challengers close behind, and almost everything still to prove on the floor. (si.com)
