Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd Reveal Favorite WNBA Players to Watch

UConn star Azzi Fudd gave the easy answer when asked by the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers to name her favorite player to watch in the WNBA.

In the newest episode of Instagram's Close Friends Only series, Fudd said it's "probably Paige Bueckers," with Bueckers quipping that was the appropriate response since she has advanced to the WNBA ranks now.

Bueckers and Fudd, who played together at UConn, have been romantically linked after Bueckers seemingly confirmed their relationship during the WNBA's All-Star Weekend.

Fudd listed Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier as her second-favorite player in the W, and Bueckers landed on Collier, too, when excluding anybody she played with at UConn.

"Everything about her game is just perfect," Fudd said.

Collier has been sidelined since Aug. 2 with a sprained ankle. Before the injury, she was the clear favorite to win WNBA MVP.

Through 26 appearances, she's averaging 23.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks. The Lynx, meanwhile, have been the WNBA's best team by some distance and remain on top despite missing their biggest star. They have a six-game lead on the reigning champion New York Liberty for the No. 1 seed.

Collier is a three-time All-WNBA and All-Defensive honoree, and she collected the Defensive Player of the Year a season ago. Especially since the start of 2023, the 28-year-old has been a fixture in conversations over the league's best player.

For the most part, though, the title of No. 1 star juggled between the Liberty's Breanna Stewart and Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson. One of the two has been named MVP five times over the last seven years, and their teams have combined to win the same number of titles during that period.

Collier is crashing the party, and her case to be considered the best will get even more compelling if the Lynx go on to lift a title.