{"slug": "top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building", "title": "Top draft pick Azzi Fudd bottled up by Valkyries in Steph Curry’s building", "summary": "WNBA top draft pick Azzi Fudd was held to 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting by the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center, the home arena of her mentor Stephen Curry. The rookie guard struggled against a stifling defense in a learning experience that her coach said will help her grow.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...SAN FRANCISCO – [Azzi Fudd](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/15/uconn-azzi-fudd-steph-curry-kaitlyn-checn-valkyries-wnba/) spent her collegiate career playing home games at UConn’s hallowed Gampel Pavilion, and her rookie season with the Dallas Wings has taken her around the country.\n\nBut getting a chance to [play in Ballhalla – better-known as Chase Center](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/17/valkyries-instant-analysis-chen-provides-spark-as-golden-state-downs-wings-at-home/) – was a special occasion for the first overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft.\n\n“I’m super-excited, and even like seeing the Warriors logo around here, it’s like ‘Wow, Steph plays here,’” Fudd said during a pregame interview.\n\nThe Valkyries seemed equally-excited to welcome the rookie to the league’s most intimidating road environment, and succeeded in stifling the young guard. She shot just 4 of 13 and scored 10 points, all in the second half.\n\nHer coach saw the rough outing as a learning experience for one of UConn’s stars of their 2025 National Championship team.\n\n“You can pull a lot from wins, and from losses,” Jose Fernandez said. “It’s about how you respond.”\n\nIf there is any athlete in the Bay Area who can show Fudd how to bounce back from a bad loss, it is Curry.\n\nFudd and Curry’s relationship goes back almost a decade, back when a 15-year-old Fudd was an elite high school prospect. It was difficult for Curry not to notice and respect a fellow sharpshooter.\n\n“It’s kind of like a shooter’s heaven when you watch that,” Curry told ESPN in 2023. “I kind of get jealous about it, because it looks prettier than mine.”\n\nShe became the first collegiate player to sign an NIL deal with Curry’s brand in 2021, a partnership that lasted until March of this year, when Fudd joined Nike.\n\nDespite Fudd now representing a new brand, the two remain tight.\n\nEven if Curry never went to a UConn game – Fudd ribbed him about it on a recent podcast – she still enthusiastically joined him at his 2025 skills camp as a coach.\n\n“It’s incredible to see just how much it’s grown, and how much is really put into this,” Fudd told the Bay Area News Group. “And you know, his inviting an equal amount of girls, I think, is incredible and just shows the kind of person he is, and how he really means what he talks about.”\n\nFudd struggled to find separation against a high-level Valkyries defense, but still flashed the shooting stroke that has long captivated the basketball world. She splashed 2 of 5 3-point attempts, showcasing a compact form that takes only a few milliseconds to load and fire.\n\n“I’m just going to take what the defense gives me, and if the three is there, then I’m going to take it,” Fudd said before the game.\n\nThough she likely will not win the Rookie of the Year award thanks to Olivia Miles’ incendiary play, Fudd has been solid nonetheless.\n\nShe entered Wednesday’s game averaging 12.9 points on 52.7% from the field and 38.6% from behind the arc as the starting shooting guard next to fellow star Paige Bueckers.\n\nThe Wings travel to the Bay Area again on Aug. 17, and it would be no surprise if Fudd has improved immensely by that time as she strives to evolve into a truly unstoppable scorer.\n\n“(It’s just about) being patient, taking a deep breath, not forcing things, and reading the defense,” Fudd said. “I like to be able to score at all three levels, so if you take one away from me, the next is there.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building", "canonical_source": "https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/18/top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building/", "published_at": "2026-06-18 12:30:37+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-18 12:55:07.803040+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products"], "entities": ["Azzi Fudd", "Valkyries", "Chase Center", "Stephen Curry", "Dallas Wings", "UConn", "Jose Fernandez", "Paige Bueckers"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-draft-pick-azzi-fudd-bottled-up-by-valkyries-in-steph-currys-building.jsonld"}}