Paige Bueckers and WNBA No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd are teammates again in Dallas, but the status of their relationship isn’t relevant to the Wings’ outlook in 2026.

The pair of former UConn teammates, who have been the team’s first-round picks in the last two WNBA drafts, announced that they were in a romantic relationship last July, months after winning the 2025 national championship with the Huskies.

When Fudd was asked about the relationship at her introductory press conference earlier this month, a member of the Wings’ public relations staff did not allow her to answer, stating that “We’re going to respectfully decline from commenting on our players’ personal lives.”

Bueckers said Monday, three days before Dallas’ preseason opener vs. Indiana on April 30, her focus is on basketball.

“There is something I want to address, and I only plan on addressing it once. If we continue to get asked about it, we will refer to this moment in time or use the time to deflect and talk about our teammates,” Bueckers said at Dallas media day. “‘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. … Me and Azzi have always been utmost professionals. We’ve always conducted ourselves as such. We’ve never let anything that happens off the court carry onto the court, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Bueckers, the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, also made it clear that she had nothing to do with the selection of Fudd.

“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it,” Bueckers said. “It had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, as a basketball player, her resilience, her strength and her career-best year at UConn.

“Azzi is a great individual person, her own great individual person, and should be celebrated as such.”

Fudd averaged a career-best 17.3 points, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game last season, making 48.1% of her shots and 44.7% of her 3-pointers as the Huskies, who were 38-0 before their Final Four loss to South Carolina.

–Field Level Media

Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson could write his name in the franchise record book when the visiting Tigers open a three-game series against the red-hot Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

Torkelson matched the franchise mark by hitting a home run in his fifth consecutive game on Sunday against Cincinnati. Another blast would also make him the first major leaguer with a six-game home run streak since Rafael Devers in 2024.

“Just seeing the ball well and just proud of the way I’ve stuck with my plan and my approach and putting my A-swing on a lot of pitches,” Torkelson said.

Torkelson tied Hank Greenberg, Rudy York, Vic Wertz, Willie Horton and Marcus Thames for the franchise record when he took Pierce Johnson deep in the seventh inning on Sunday.

Over the last six games, the first baseman is batting .409 (9-for-22) with five homers and six RBIs. He didn’t have a home run this season before the streak began.

“When my approach is right, I feel like I can hit everything without really trying to hit everything,” Torkelson said.

Torkelson will face Atlanta left-hander Martin Perez (1-1, 2.70 ERA) in the series opener. The Tigers will send right-hander Casey Mize (2-1, 2.51) to the mound.

Atlanta comes off winning two of three from Philadelphia. It became the first team to 20 wins with Sunday’s 6-2 win in the rubber match.

Detroit beat the Reds 8-3 on Sunday to salvage one win from their three-game series.

The Braves have swept their three-game series against the Tigers in each of the last two seasons.

Perez has made five appearances (three starts) this season. In his most recent start on April 17, he tossed six scoreless innings against the Phillies. In his last outing on Wednesday, he worked three innings of relief against Washington.

Perez has made 18 appearances (16 starts) in his career against the Tigers, going 2-7 with a 5.12 ERA. He made three appearances (two starts) against Detroit last year while a member of the Chicago White Sox and went 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA in 13 2/3 innings.

With the emergence of rookie JR Ritchie and the impending return of Spencer Strider, the Atlanta rotation is in flux.

Perez, Ritchie and Bryce Elder will start against the Tigers, with Reynaldo Lopez temporarily moving to the bullpen “for now,” according to Atlanta manager Walt Weiss, to work out a mechanical flaw in his delivery. Lopez allowed four runs in one-plus inning during his last start against Washington on April 21.

“Our rotation right now, to be honest with you, is series to series,” Weiss said. “I gave you the rotation for the Tigers, but we go to Colorado, I believe, after that and we don’t know what it’s going to be there. It’s series to series with the rotation right now.”

Mize will make his sixth start and has won his last two decisions, most recently a 5-2 victory over Milwaukee last Wednesday. He pitched six innings and allowed one run against the Brewers and has given up only two runs over the last 18 1/3 innings. Mize has allowed one or fewer runs in four of his appearances.

Mize has never beaten the Braves, going 0-2 with a 4.66 ERA. He faced Atlanta one time in 2025 and took the loss after giving up three runs in 5 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Indiana Fever stars Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham remain committed to upstart women’s basketball league Project B despite some earlier mixed messages about how the WNBA’s new CBA might affect their desire to play overseas.

Mitchell told reporters last week that it would take a “drastic, unique situation” to play overseas after the new CBA increased player salaries from a maximum of around $250,000 to $1.4 million.

However, she told Front Office Sports on Saturday that the nature of Project B — a touring league with seven two-week long tournaments across Europe, Asia, and Latin America from November 2026 to April 2027 — provides her with the flexibility to return to the United States in between the 5-on-5 league’s tournaments.

“There’s a big difference, and I think people recognize what that difference is,” said Mitchell, a 2025 All-WNBA First-Team selection. “Project B gives you a chance to do both, go in and come out, whereas (with) overseas basketball you’ve gotta be over there, eight months or seven months, just to get everything you want.”

Mitchell, 30, is entering her ninth WNBA season. She is a three-time All-Star and averaged a career-high 20.2 points last season and finished fifth in the MVP balloting.

Her Fever teammate Cunningham is also still committed to playing for Project B, which she said she initially signed with out of a desire for “security” when it was unclear whether a 2026 WNBA season would happen amidst the ongoing CBA talks.

Project B will reportedly pay out seven-figure salaries starting at $2 million and offer players equity in the league.

“When they’re offering that type of money, plus the signing bonus, plus having equity in the company, it’s a no-brainer. I have financially smart people around me, and they’re like, ‘You got to do it. Your body’s got to suck it up,'” said Cunningham, who will also be a WNBA analyst for USA Network this coming season while continuing to co-host the “Show Me Something” podcast with reality TV star West Wilson.

Cunningham, 29, spent her first six WNBA seasons with the Phoenix Mercury before being obtained by Indiana before last season.

The 6-foot-1 Cunningham averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 30 games (13 starts) in 2025 before she sustained a season-ending MCL tear in her right knee. She has averages of 7.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 212 career games (105 starts), with 305 career 3-pointers and 154 steals.

“When companies pour into us, they really see our value,” Cunningham said. “That’s not just on the basketball court — that’s just in life as a businesswoman.”

Both players signed one-year deals with the Fever, with Mitchell making $1.4 million on a supermax deal and Cunningham earning $655,000 for the season.

Mitchell and Cunningham are among 13 players who were announced as participants for Project B, which will play in various countries. Play is expected to begin in November, with the last stop slated to be Tokyo from March 26-April 4, per FOS.

–Field Level Media