Azzi Fudd No. 1
The Dallas Wings used the top pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft on UConn guard Azzi Fudd — a selection that carries an advertised roughly $500,000 rookie payday. (espn.com) Minnesota followed by taking Olivia Miles at No. 2, and outlets noted the Wings reunited Fudd with former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers as part of draft‑day coverage and grades. (sports.yahoo.com)
Dallas used the first pick in the 2026 Women’s National Basketball Association draft on Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd on Monday night. (espn.com) Fudd’s rookie scale salary starts at $500,000 under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, according to ESPN’s breakdown of 2026 pay. The No. 2 pick starts at $466,913, and the first round bottoms out at $289,133. (espn.com) Minnesota followed at No. 2 by taking Olivia Miles, the former Notre Dame point guard who spent her final college season at Texas Christian University. Yahoo Sports and local coverage identified Miles as the Lynx’s pick after Dallas opened the draft with Fudd. (sports.yahoo.com) The Dallas pick also reunited Fudd with Paige Bueckers, her former Connecticut teammate and the Wings’ No. 1 overall pick in 2025. Dallas announced Bueckers as the top selection in last year’s draft on April 14, 2025. (wings.wnba.com) The money attached to the pick is part of a broader salary reset in the Women’s National Basketball Association. ESPN reported that the 2026 maximum salary rises to $1.19 million, while award bonuses and rookie deals also jump under the new agreement. (espn.com) That change is large enough that Fudd’s first-year salary alone exceeds the full four-year rookie contract Bueckers signed as the top pick in 2025 before the new pay structure took effect. Bleacher Report reported Bueckers’ original four-year deal totaled $348,198. (bleacherreport.com) Dallas entered the night with a chance to add another perimeter scorer next to Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. ESPN’s draft report said Fudd heads to Dallas with that $500,000 rookie payday waiting after going first overall. (espn.com) By the end of Monday’s first two picks, the draft had delivered two guard-heavy outcomes: Dallas paired Fudd with Bueckers, and Minnesota handed the second slot to Miles. The first night of the 2026 draft turned on backcourt talent and a new salary scale that immediately changed what the top pick is worth. (espn.com)
