Azzi Fudd made a memorable entrance in her first WNBA All-Star weekend. The Dallas Wings guard claimed victory in the 3-point contest on Friday night, becoming the first rookie in league history to achieve this feat.
In the first round, Fudd scored 30 points, just 10 points away from a perfect score. Portland Fire’s Bridget Carleton was eliminated with a score of 19. Fudd took 27 shots, missing only six, securing her win.
Despite her remarkable performance, Fudd admitted she felt nervous. She commented, “You saw ‘only’ six shots, but I feel like that was a lot. But honestly, I was really nervous. I was excited.”
Fudd continued, “It’s fun to do because, and I don’t want to sound cocky, but it’s easy to me, just the set shot. Take the ball from the rack; it’s really muscle memory. I’ve been doing this since I was young.”
Her season performance includes an average of 2.2 shots from beyond the arc, totaling 53 successful 3-pointers in her rookie year.
Fudd’s college career was marred by injuries, but Dallas saw her talent and selected her first in the WNBA Draft in April. She noted that her rehab work, focusing on repetitive shooting, refined her form and rhythm, aiding her contest success. “That was a lot of chair shooting, a lot of stationary shots,” she explained. “You get really good at shooting off a rack and having to make the shot.”
The WNBA also introduced a new event, the Shooting Stars competition, at this year’s All-Star weekend. This event involved teams of three, each consisting of a veteran player, a current player, and an emerging player. Team Washington emerged victorious over Team Seattle.
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