WNBA Draft Basketball

Azzi Fudd is on her way to Dallas as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft with a $500,000 payday waiting for the former UConn star. Fudd will pair again with former Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers, who was the Wings’ No. 1 pick last year. The new collective bargaining agreement that was ratified last month gave huge pay raises to rookies. Fudd will make nearly seven-times what Bueckers earned last season as the top choice. UCLA had quite a night with five players drafted in the first round breaking the record held by the 2002 UConn team and six overall.

The party isn’t over for UCLA’s national champions. The Bruins are having another big celebration at the WNBA draft. Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice were taken with picks Nos. 4-6 on Monday night, barely a week after helping the Bruins win their first NCAA championship. UCLA became the first team to have five first-round selections, and the first with six players selected in one draft. The 6-foot-7 Betts was selected by the Washington Mystics, with Jaquez then taken by the Chicago Sky. The expansion Toronto Tempo made Rice their first draft pick with the No. 6 selection. Angela Dugalic and Gianna Kneepkens were also taken in the first round.