Azzi Fudd made WNBA history on Friday night, winning the All-Star 3-point contest and becoming the first rookie in league history to claim the title. The Dallas Wings guard achieved the feat during her first WNBA All-Star weekend appearance.
Fudd's performance in the final round saw her score 30 points out of a possible 40. She took 27 shots, missing only six attempts. "You saw ‘only’ six shots, but I feel like that was a lot," Fudd said after the event, acknowledging her nerves. "But honestly, I was really nervous. I was excited."
Describing the act of shooting, Fudd stated, "It's fun to do because... and I don't want to sound cocky... but 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."
During her rookie season, Fudd has averaged 2.2 successful shots from beyond the 3-point arc, making a total of 53 three-pointers so far. Despite facing injury setbacks during her college career, the Dallas Wings selected her first overall in the WNBA Draft, valuing her talent.
Fudd noted that her rehabilitation process, which involved extensive stationary shooting, helped refine her form and build the rhythm necessary for the contest. "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."
Earlier in the evening, the WNBA introduced a new event, the Shooting Stars competition, which replaced the past skills challenge. This inaugural event featured four teams, each composed of a former player, a current player, and a young rising player. Team Washington emerged as the winner of the Shooting Stars competition, defeating Team Seattle.