Azzi Fudd Shines at WNBA All-Star with Historic 3-Point Win

Azzi Fudd of the Dallas Wings showcased remarkable shooting skills at her first WNBA All-Star weekend. She became the first rookie to win the event, clinching the 3-point contest on Friday night. Fudd scored 30 points in the first round, which was just 10 points shy of the maximum possible score.

During the contest, Portland Fire’s Bridget Carleton was eliminated after scoring 19 points. Fudd took 27 shots, missing only six, securing the coveted title.

You saw ‘only’ six shots, but I feel like that was a lot. But honestly, I was really nervous. I was excited.

Fudd expressed both excitement and nerves over the event, emphasizing the fun and familiarity of the experience. It’s easy to me, just the set shot. Take the ball from the rack; it really is muscle memory. It’s what I’ve been doing since I was young, she stated.

In her rookie year, Fudd has been averaging 2.2 shots from beyond the 3-point line and has made 53 3-pointers so far this season.

Though injuries affected her college career, Dallas recognized her talent and chose her first in the WNBA Draft. Fudd mentioned that her injury setbacks unexpectedly benefited her shooting form by providing ample practice through repetitive, stationary shooting exercises during rehab.

That was a lot of chair shooting, a lot of stationary shots, so you get really good at shooting off of a rack and being stationary and robotic and having to knock your shot down.

In addition to the 3-point contest, the WNBA introduced the Shooting Stars competition. This new event replaced the previous skills challenge and featured four teams, each with a former player, a current player, and a rising young player. Team Washington emerged victorious over Team Seattle in the inaugural competition.