Wings' Paige Bueckers finally opens up on Azzi Fudd relationship, No. 1 pick selection

With their second No. 1 pick in as many years, the Dallas Wings took UConn star Azzi Fudd.

The decision sparked some backlash, given that she wasn't projected to be the top selection and that she had a relationship with fellow Wings and UConn star Paige Bueckers.

Fudd and the team had refused to address the narrative in the days after the WNBA Draft, but with the preseason already underway, Buckers decided to end this once and for all. Speaking on her team's media day, the former No. 1 pick set the record straight.

Paige Bueckers says Azzi Fudd deserved to be the No. 1 pick

"Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi's personal relationship is nobody's business but our own. And what we choose to share is completely up to us," Bueckers said, per ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

Moreover, the former national champion also shut down the narrative of the Wings taking Fudd just to please her. Bueckers believes Fudd's trajectory and skill speak for themselves, and she earned the right to be the first player off the board.

"We've never let anything that happens off the court carry onto the court, and that's what we'll continue to do," added Bueckers. "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 [as a] basketball player."

The unique dynamics of the WNBA lay the groundwork for these situations, but people need to be wary of firing off lazy takes. Yes, Fudd probably should've been taken a couple of spots below, but it's not that she can't play. Also, her on-court chemistry with Bueckers, the face of the franchise, is a given, having played together since their youth days with Team USA.

Perhaps the Wings could've maximized the pick's value by trading down and still taking Fudd. Whatever the case, Bueckers may have done the right thing by addressing the elephant in the room rather than making it a bigger deal than it needed to be.