DHJ Quick Take: The Aziaha James Leap
- The Unrivaled Foundation: After spending her rookie season in a developmental role, Aziaha James arrived at camp in “tip-top shape” following her stint with Phantom BC in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league. Coach Jose Fernandez noted that her conditioning and pace have set her apart, allowing her to thrive in the team’s new high-tempo system.
- Point-of-Attack Priority: In a backcourt featuring players like Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Arike Ogunbowale, James has intentionally pivoted her focus to defense. By emphasizing “grit” and point-of-attack pressure, she is positioning herself as the disruptive perimeter defender the Wings need to compete with elite teams.
- Offensive Poise: Despite the defensive focus, James‘ offensive range was on full display Saturday. She scored on three consecutive possessions—an acrobatic rim finish, a mid-range jumper, and a three-pointer—flashing a refined “year-two mindset” of letting the game come to her rather than forcing volume.
- Veteran Mentorship: James is leveraging a locker room filled with experience, citing Alysha Clark’s professional habits and Alanna Smith’s defensive mindset as blueprints for her career. Pairing that veteran wisdom with her natural “electric” transition game makes her one of the most intriguing rotation pieces for the 2026 season.
ARLINGTON, Texas — When Aziaha James put together her best stretch of training camp Saturday, scoring on three consecutive possessions to flash her full offensive range, the open portion of practice was already deep into 5-on-5 competition. Starters like Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Alanna Smith had cycled out. The reps that followed gave James the floor.
She made the most of it.
James attacked downhill for an acrobatic finish against rim protection. She knocked down a catch-and-shoot mid-range jumper. She connected from beyond the arc. She also got into the ball on the defensive end and forced a turnover with the kind of point-of-attack pressure she has been emphasizing all camp.
It was the kind of stretch that confirms what the rest of the building has already been saying about the second-year guard.
“You guys saw Aziaha today, you can tell how hard she worked in the offseason,” head coach Jose Fernandez said.
Saturday was not a one-day flash either. James drilled a step-back 3-pointer over Bueckers during Friday’s open portion of practice and has consistently gotten into the paint throughout the week. The talent is on display every day.
A Camp Built on Offseason Work
James averaged 7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.6 steals per game across 38 games as a rookie last season, shooting 37.3 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three on 2.9 attempts per game in 17.7 minutes. The numbers were modest by design. James was selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft out of NC State and spent her first season in a developmental role behind the franchise’s veteran scorers.
What has stood out through training camp is how clearly the offseason work she put in has translated to the floor. Fernandez singled out the conditioning of James and forward Maddy Siegrist during Day 2 of camp, pointing to their offseasons in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league as a factor in how prepared both arrived.
“You can tell who the pros and veterans are because this has been their job. They come in with a different pace,” Fernandez said. “Maddy and Aziaha, Unrivaled was really good for them. They came in in tip-top shape. You can really tell who played in the offseason, whether it’s AU or Unrivaled, based on their conditioning.”
Fernandez has expanded his praise beyond conditioning, pointing to the creativity and downhill scoring instincts that have shown up in camp. The Wings are focusing on getting her the ball in transition to make plays, along with maintaining the right half-court spacing for her to thrive.
“She came in elite shape,” Fernandez said. “I like her creativity that she can get to the rim. She’s left-handed and now I think she feels pretty comfortable on where she’s going to get the ball on the floor, especially in quick hitters and half-court sets. But if we can get it, get it out to her, she can get out in transition, she’s electric in the open floor. Now it’s about spacing and putting her in the right positions in the half court.”
James said her time at Unrivaled was the foundation of her year-two leap.
“Unrivaled really helped me a lot, tremendously. I was focused on my defense,” James said. “There are a lot of scorers in the W, but it takes willingness and pride to have that grit and stop your matchup on defense. That’s what I’ve been working toward.”
The Year-Two Mindset
James entered the offseason with a clear plan. The Wings have a roster full of perimeter scorers, with Bueckers, Fudd, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, and reigning WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year Smith all capable of putting up points. James decided early that her year-two leap would not come from chasing offensive volume. It would come from becoming the kind of disruptive defender every contender needs.
“I wanted to focus on my point-of-attack defense. Offense is going to come, we have a lot of shooters on this team,” James said. “So I just want to help out a lot on defense.”
The physical work followed the mental commitment. James said her offseason regimen was built around adding strength and durability so she could withstand the contact she takes as an on-ball defender.
“Just getting bigger and stronger. I’m tired of getting pushed around,” James said. “I feel like year two is really going to set my career off.”
The early returns have shown up in the open portions of practice all week. James has been one of the most active perimeter defenders on the floor, picking up early in possessions and trying to contain ball handlers from the moment they cross half-court. Fernandez has made point-of-attack defense a defining feature of the system he is installing, and James said the connection between his approach and hers has been seamless.
“Just picking up early and trying to contain the ball the whole way,” James said. “We’re trying to shorten the shot clock, make offenses uncomfortable. That’s something coach emphasizes a lot.”
Learning From the League’s Best at Unrivaled
James joined Phantom BC late in the Unrivaled season after injuries to Aliyah Boston and guard Dana Evans opened roster spots in the 3-on-3 league. The brief stint put her in daily competition against some of the WNBA’s top players, and James said the exposure to multiple practice environments accelerated her development.
“Literally all of them,” James said when asked which veterans she was able to learn from. “That was the best part, being able to be around different teams, different practices. I learned from Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell and other point guards from different perspectives. Just seeing how they work day-to-day, waking up, getting treatment, it’s the little things that build the bigger picture.”
That confidence has carried into camp. Bueckers, who was teammates with James at Unrivaled, said the second-year guard’s growth has been one of the more visible developments through the first week of practice.
“She’s grown so much more confident,” Bueckers said of James. “It started with Unrivaled. Every time she stepped up, she played extremely well and worked hard every day. She’s been confident and aggressive on both ends. We need her to be disruptive, crash the offensive boards, get deflections, and be aggressive on offense, hunting shots, getting to the paint, and creating. She’s been doing all of that.”
Letting the Game Come to Her
James said her offensive approach this camp has been built around restraint, not pursuit. She has tried to take a backseat to overthinking the game and instead let it come to her, a mindset that paid off Saturday.
“Just allowing the game to come to me. Not thinking too much, just relying on my teammates,” James said. “They were finding me when I was open, so I just had to make the shots and knock them down.”
James said the goal entering year two has been to build on what she showed as a rookie without forcing a reinvention.
“Just staying poised and staying true to myself. Building on what I did last year and continuing to be myself,” James said. “Whatever the team needs, I’m right there for them.”
Learning From Paige Bueckers and Alysha Clark
James has spent significant time with Bueckers in the early days of camp, and she said that playing alongside the reigning Rookie of the Year has continued to shape her game.
“Paige’s game just keeps getting better every day. Playing with her and learning from her, you see different things,” James said. “She’s young, but she already carries herself like a vet. Having that opportunity to be around her, I’m just grateful.”
James has also leaned on veteran Alysha Clark as a model of the habits that sustain a long professional career. The lessons, James said, have been less about basketball than about lifestyle.
“Taking care of your body is number one. If you don’t do that, you’re not going to have a long career,” James said. “Also being patient on offense and defense, asking questions, and learning from them. Alysha teaches me a lot, I watch her a lot. Just learning from these vets is going to help me for sure.”
Helping Azzi Fudd Acclimate
James has also taken on the role of helping rookie Azzi Fudd transition to the WNBA. The No. 1 overall pick is making her own adjustment to the league, and James said her job has been to support Fudd through the early days while letting her natural gifts speak for themselves.
“Just being there for her. She’s coming from a winning program, so she already understands a lot,” James said. “I’m just helping where I can, but she’s going to be special. I can’t wait to see her this season.”
James said Fudd’s shooting jumps off the floor immediately, and that her mindset off the court has matched the talent on it.
“She’s a natural-born shooter, right away, you can see it. It’s amazing to watch,” James said. “Off the court, she’s humble, poised, competitive, and aggressive. That’s just who she is, it’s natural for her.”
A Defined Role in a New System
Fernandez has been clear with James about what he expects from her, and James said that clarity has been a key factor in her camp performance. She is being valued for what she can knock down on offense and disrupt on defense, with the role tied directly to her strengths.
“For sure. I’m one of the players they value on offense, so they want me to knock down open shots and get back on defense,” James said. “Since I guard at the point of attack, that’s a big part of my role too. They’ve definitely been clear with me.”
The pace Fernandez wants the Wings to play also fits James’ game. She thrives in open space, and the offseason conditioning work she put in alongside the team’s training staff has positioned her to handle the speed.
“It’s going to help a lot. We’re going to be a really well-conditioned team,” James said. “We’re running every day, doing conditioning off the court too. Our tempo is definitely going to be fast-paced.”
Buying Into the Standard
James said the coaching staff has pushed her every day to treat practice with regular-season intensity, an approach that mirrors the championship culture Fernandez has emphasized from Day 1.
“Coach is always talking about being a championship team, how we show up every day, in every possession, in every huddle,” James said. “Setting that standard this early, you can already tell what kind of team we’re trying to be.”
“They push me every day, telling me to sprint every play, treat every possession like it’s a game. They’ve already set the standard, and I’m excited for the season.”
James said the buy-in has been visible across the roster, with players showing up to the facility well before camp officially opened.
“Definitely. A lot of us were here two weeks before camp even started, working out with the coaches,” James said. “That just shows we’re ready and locked in. At least 10 of us were here early, so that tells you everything about the mindset.”
Fernandez said the energy he has gotten from the group across both ends of the floor has been the through-line of the early practices, and James has been one of the players most visibly delivering it.
“Camp’s been fun with these guys, and it should be. You don’t have to coach effort,” Fernandez said. “That translates into playing and what you see on both ends of the floor.”
The Wings continue training camp ahead of their preseason opener against the Indiana Fever on April 30. The regular season tips off on May 9, featuring another matchup against Indiana.
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