DHJ Quick Take: How To Watch Azzi Fudd’s Preseason Debut
- Azzi Fudd’s Preseason Debut: The unofficial start of the Azzi Fudd era in Dallas is the headline story of the preseason. Pairing her with reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers creates a highly anticipated young Dallas Wings backcourt.
- Broadcast Details: Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcast nationally on ION, making it widely accessible for the Azzi Fudd debut. Fans can also stream the matchup via WNBA League Pass.
- Wings Injury Report: Jose Fernandez will navigate a significantly shorthanded roster. Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, Awak Kuier, and Costanza Verona are out (overseas). JJ Quinerly (knee) is out as she continues her recovery ramp, and Rayah Marshall remains in concussion protocol. Veteran Lindsay Allen is the lone “probable” designation (hamstring).
- Fever Injury Report: Indiana is also managing key absences. Aliyah Boston (lower leg), Lexie Hull (hamstring), Tyasha Harris (knee), and Justine Pissott (lower leg) have all been ruled out. This leaves a perimeter-heavy rotation led by Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Dallas Wings open their 2026 preseason slate Thursday night with a road trip to Indianapolis, taking on the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the first of two preseason tune-ups before the May 9 regular-season tip-off.
The night carries more weight than a typical exhibition. It will be the first time Jose Fernandez coaches a Wings game, the first time No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd wears a Dallas uniform, and the debut of a heavily reshaped roster that brings together returning core pieces, marquee free agent additions, and a long list of players still working their way back from overseas commitments.
How to Watch
- Tip-off: Thursday, April 30, 6 p.m. CT
- Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
- TV: ION (national broadcast)
- Streaming: WNBA League Pass
- Live stats: stats.wnba.com
Alanna Smith Sets the Tone for the Preseason Opener
Newly signed forward Alanna Smith said tonight’s preseason opener is about more than just live reps. It’s about laying down an identity early.
“I think this is a really good opportunity for us to form and solidify our identity. I’m ultra-competitive, so the goal is to win, but also just to learn how to play together, build some chemistry, and get off on the right foot for the season,” Smith told Dallas Hoops Journal at the Wings’ shootaround Thursday morning.
The 2025 Co-Defensive Player of the Year framed Indiana’s roster, which features Caitlin Clark and All-Star center Aliyah Boston, as a useful early measuring stick even with Boston ruled out for the night.
“Being able to compete against some of the best of the best is a privilege. It’s going to be great for us to test how we can play defense individually, but also together. So yeah, we’re excited,” Smith told Dallas Hoops Journal.
With Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, Awak Kuier, and Costanza Verona all unavailable as they continue to work through overseas commitments, Smith said the answer, with a thinned roster, comes down to fundamentals.
“It’s about doing the one-percenters every time, hitting bodies, boxing out, crashing, and not taking plays off,” Smith told Dallas Hoops Journal. “When the shot goes up, it’s still live. So it’s just focusing on staying locked in for the entire possession.”
Jose Fernandez’s Checklist for the Dallas Wings’ First Game
Fernandez, who unofficially begins his first season as Wings head coach on Thursday after being hired Oct. 27, 2025, said he’s looking to see his practice priorities translate to live action on both ends.
“How we play with the pace I want to play at is important. We need to make sure our offensive spacing is good, how we’re valuing the ball and taking care of it, and how we’re playing out of different actions, what’s happening after those actions,” Fernandez told Dallas Hoops Journal.
His defensive emphasis matched the messaging he carried through training camp.
“Defensively, it’s about how we guard the ball, not letting it get by us, our transition defense, stopping the ball, loading up, and making sure we’re playing five-on-five in the half court,” Fernandez told Dallas Hoops Journal. “Then how we rebound the ball.”
Even with Boston sidelined, Indiana’s backcourt of Clark and Kelsey Mitchell offers Dallas one of the more demanding perimeter assignments it could draw to open the preseason.
“It’ll be a good test for our guards in how we defend, dribble penetration, defending the arc, and where our help rotations come from,” Fernandez told Dallas Hoops Journal. “That’ll all be good to see.”
Azzi Fudd Set for Dallas Wings Preseason Debut
Tonight will be the first time Fudd plays a basketball game in a Wings uniform. Dallas selected the Connecticut guard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, marking the franchise’s second straight year holding the top selection.
Her final season in Storrs was the best of her college career. Fudd averaged 17.7 points per game while shooting 48.9% from the field, 45.5% from 3-point range, and 95.5% from the free throw line. Those numbers earned her All-America honors from the Associated Press, USBWA, and Wooden Award, BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition, an All-BIG EAST First Team selection, and a spot on the NCAA Fort Worth Regional All-Region Team. UConn rode that production to its 25th Final Four appearance.
She joins a backcourt that already features reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, giving Dallas back-to-back No. 1 overall picks pairing on the perimeter for the foreseeable future.
Year 2 for Paige Bueckers
Bueckers enters her sophomore season after a historic rookie year that earned her Rookie of the Year, WNBA All-Star, and All-WNBA Second Team honors. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while finishing among the league’s top nine in scoring, assists, and steals.
Her efficiency was a defining marker of her rookie campaign. Bueckers posted a league-best 20.3 efficiency rating among guards, set a single-game scoring record with a 44-point performance, and put together a 30-game streak of double-digit scoring outings.
A Reshaped Roster Around the Core
Free agency reshaped the rotation around Bueckers, Ogunbowale, and the returning core. Smith and Shepard arrive from a Minnesota Lynx team that finished 34-10 in 2025. Smith earned All-Defensive First Team honors, while Shepard led the WNBA in field goal percentage at 63.8%.
Three-time WNBA champion Alysha Clark also signed in Dallas, as did veteran point guards Lindsay Allen and Odyssey Sims. The newcomers were brought in with specific roles in mind, namely defensive versatility, frontcourt finishing, and ball-handling depth.
Originally selected fifth overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft, Ogunbowale re-signed with Dallas in April for her eighth season and remains the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.
Wings-Fever Storylines
Sims will face her former team for the first time since helping Indiana reach its first WNBA Semifinals since 2015. She led the Fever in assists at 4.4 per game and steals at 1.4 per game during the playoff run, while finishing second in scoring at 14.4 per game.
The trades run both directions. Indiana’s 2026 roster includes guard Tyasha Harris and forward Myisha Hines-Allen, both former Wings who signed with the Fever during 2026 free agency. Harris is listed as out Thursday with a knee injury, so the on-court reunion will have to wait.
Injury Reports
The Fever will be without several key players. Boston (lower leg), Lexie Hull (hamstring), Justine Pissott (lower leg), and Harris (knee) are all listed as out, leaving Indiana’s projected rotation thinned considerably for an exhibition; many of its starters might not have logged heavy minutes in regardless.
Veteran guard Lindsay Allen carries a probable designation with a right hamstring tag and could see her first preseason action after ramping up her on-court work in Tuesday’s practice. Rookie guard JJ Quinerly is out with a left knee designation as she continues her recovery from October surgery. Forward Rayah Marshall remains in concussion protocol. The four overseas-related absences round out the Wings’ inactive list.
Series History
Indiana leads the all-time regular-season series 41-36. The two teams have met six times in preseason play since 2016, splitting those games 3-3. Dallas won the most recent preseason matchup, 79-76, on May 3, 2024, in Arlington. Thursday’s contest will be the Wings’ first preseason game played in Indiana since May 13, 2023.
The teams will face each other three times during the 2026 regular season, beginning with the May 9 opener in Indianapolis at 12 p.m. CT, followed by an Aug. 14 trip to Indiana and an Aug. 20 home meeting in Arlington.
Up Next
Dallas closes its preseason slate Sunday, May 3, against the Las Vegas Aces at the Moody Center in Austin, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. CT. The regular-season opener follows May 9 at Indiana.
More Wings Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- Dallas Wings WATCH: Azzi Fudd Gets Up Shots At Shootaround Before WNBA Preseason Debut
- ‘The Goal Is To Win’: Alanna Smith, Jose Fernandez Preview Dallas Wings’ Preseason Opener At Indiana Fever
- ‘She’s Going To Be Special’: Inside Azzi Fudd’s Early Impression At Dallas Wings Training Camp
- Dallas Wings Injury Report: Six Players Out For Preseason Opener Against Indiana Fever
- Azzi Fudd Throws Out First Pitch At Texas Rangers Game On Dallas Wings Night
- Dallas Wings Practice Recap: JJ Quinerly, Lindsay Allen Increase Activity, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu Debuts As Preseason Opener Looms
- Dallas Wings 2026 Media Day: Key Takeaways Featuring Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd And More
- Paige Bueckers On Dallas Wings’ New Offensive System: ‘Never A Stagnant Moment’
- ‘It’s About Want To’: Paige Bueckers’ Vocal Leadership Is Setting The Dallas Wings’ Training Camp Tone
- ‘A Dream Come True’: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd Realize Decade-Long Journey To Dallas Wings Backcourt
