The Dallas Wings did not take Olivia Miles with the first overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. It went with Azzi Fudd, the former national champion teammate and girlfriend of Paige Bueckers.
Miles completely understands the decision but early on-court results suggest it was the wrong selection.
The No. 2 overall pick is going to be named as the Rookie of the Year in the WNBA and will likely finish as the runner-up MVP voting. The No. 1 overall pick was not even selected as an All-Star.
The Dallas Wings drafted Azzi Fudd.
Paige Bueckers was selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the second-to-last place Dallas Wings. She immediately burst onto the scene with 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game as a rookie but her team still managed to finish in a tie for last place with the Chicago Sky at 10-34.
As a result, the Dallas Wings were able to secure its second-straight No. 1 overall pick for 2026. They decided to pick Azzi Fudd.
Fudd, who played alongside Bueckers at UConn, is also dating her former teammate. Even though the intrasquad relationship is not a secret, it is not something that they or the organization are actively trying to promote. The focus is on basketball.
Bueckers tried to say Dallas did not select Fudd because she wanted to play with her girlfriend.
“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is the basketball player.”
That is true! Bueckers and Fudd proved to be a dominant front court-back court duo in college. Bueckers already plays point guard for the Wings so they did not need to draft another point guard. They needed a forward and Fudd was considered the top forward.
However, by taking Fudd, Dallas passed on Olivia Miles. Miles was considered the top player in the class by a pretty large margin. The rookie point guard is currently averaging 19.7 points on 49.5% shooting, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists for the Minnesota Lynx.
Olivia Miles addressed the WNBA Draft snub.
Miles recently appeared on the Welcome To The Party podcast. She spoke with Abby Wambach, who was also drafted No. 2. The United States Women’s National Team legend said it was the best thing that ever happened to her. The draft snub gave her a chip on her shoulder and kept her motivated throughout her entire legendary career.
Olivia Miles agrees. She wanted to go No. 1 and felt like she “deserved “to go No. 1. The Dallas Wings went with Azzi Fudd. She went No. 2.
Although Miles would by lying if she said she was not disappointed, she completely understands how the process works and knows there is “more to it.” What does she mean by that exactly? That is up to your interpretation. Here are her full comments:
In the end, Miles’ WNBA Draft snub worked out for her and the Lynx. Minnesota is atop the league at 31-8. Its rookie point guard is going to finish second in MVP voting. Meanwhile, Fudd averaged only 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30 games.
Did the Dallas Wings make the wrong pick? We’ll see. It made sense to draft Fudd for a lot of reasons but Miles was a sure thing.
As my esteemed colleague Clay Sauertieg put it: “If you don’t think Oliva Miles and Paige Bueckers could’ve played off one another, I’m afraid you just don’t know ball.” The Dallas Wings might regret this pick in a few years… (If they don’t already!)