{"id":731877,"date":"2021-11-30T15:02:45","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T20:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=731877"},"modified":"2022-01-25T15:16:55","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T20:16:55","slug":"paige-bueckers-azzi-fudd-cover-slam-235","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/paige-bueckers-azzi-fudd-cover-slam-235\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of How Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd\u2019s Unbreakable Bond Led Them to UConn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s a lot of wonder in the elements of nature. Earth, fire, water and air come together to create a sense of balance in the world. Each force of nature consists of one-of-a-kind characteristics that alone are already mind-shattering, but when put together? They create the most powerful unit in existence. The same can be said for the fire within Paige Bueckers and the water-like calm Azzi Fudd exudes when they step on the court together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both were the No. 1 players in the country in their respective recruiting classes (2020 and 2021), and now they\u2019re about to embark on what is sure to be their most memorable journey yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would say our friendship is pretty insane,\u201d Bueckers, a sophomore, says on the set of our cover shoot on UConn\u2019s campus in early October. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty crazy. Just seeing the way we interact…We have so many similarities, but we also have so many differences. I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s like yin and yang.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Azzi then interjects to add, \u201cBut I feel like where we\u2019re disconnected, we complement each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Bueckers regularly running the point and Azzi coming in at shooting guard, it\u2019s easy to see what Fudd means. They are arguably the best in the country at what they do, and some of the greatest of all time know it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe can be going full speed and stop on a dime and have, like, a feathery release,\u201d Stephen Curry said of Azzi to espnW. \u201cI think she has more of a textbook jumper than anyone I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe makes really hard passes look really easy, and she makes really easy passes look easy,\u201d UConn legend Diana Taurasi said of Bueckers in a sit-down with TOGETHXR. \u201cThat alone sets her apart from every other player in college. Paige Bueckers is the best player in basketball already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SLAM 235 featuring Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd is available now.<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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There have been many top-tier championship caliber backcourt duos to come out of Storrs. Sue Bird and DT, Bria Hartley and Moriah Jefferson, Renee Montgomery and Tiffany Hayes, just to name a few. Most of them, though, we got to see come to life at Gampel Pavilion. But Paige and Azzi\u2019s story is a little different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was early in the summer of 2017 when the USA Women\u2019s U16 National Team tryouts took place. The team would go on to play at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina later that summer. The USA team tryouts are well-known to be one of the most competitive environments, and both Paige and Azzi were some of the youngest trying to make the roster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy first impression of Paige was, I think it was right before they made the final cuts and we were on the same team and we were both trying out for point guard,\u201d Azzi recalls. \u201cAnd I looked at her and was like, This white girl got nothing on me, I don\u2019t need to worry about her.<\/em> I quickly realized that I was wrong,\u201d she shares laughing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two superstars ultimately made the final roster and were on their way to Argentina, where they got their first test as teammates and ended up having an immediate connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe saw them play together in Argentina and they both came off the bench,\u201d Azzi\u2019s mother, Katie, recalls. \u201cAll of the parents were hanging out at night and going on tours, so we actually got pretty close with Paige\u2019s parents. Watching them play together on the court, we just assumed, Oh, they must be really tight off the court.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was an early showing of what is surely to become one of the top backcourts in the country. Paige handling the ball, bringing the court vision, seeing the passes that need to be made and catching the open cutters. The ultimate floor general. Azzi playing off the ball, making the necessary cuts, playing physical defense, and most importantly, getting open to knock down shots. The ultimate three-point assassin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While they helped bring home USA U16\u2019s fifth gold medal, it really wasn\u2019t until after the tournament that The Paige and Azzi Show really started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On their way back to the States, they ended up sitting next to each other. Paige was heading back to where she grew up in Minnetonka, MN, and Azzi was going to meet her grandparents who also live in the Gopher State. That plane ride would not only change each of their lives but would also eventually impact all of women\u2019s basketball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I mean, when you sit alone on a plane next to Azzi, it\u2019s just a whole lot of chattin\u2019, so I kinda sorta entertained it and I think our friendship sort of bonded from there,\u201d Paige says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess\u2014that\u2019s not how I remember,\u201d Azzi responds while laughing. \u201cI remember I was really shy, so when we were on the plane, I was kind of forced to talk to her. But then when we got back with my grandparents, she was just with us a lot. We would go to the gym. I had, like, a new workout partner, and I loved working out with her. Then from there, she just tagged along with my family. She was a part of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trips to AAU and high school tournaments to watch each other play, the annual Fudd family cabin trips, endless pranks and training sessions\u2014they were always together. The basketball gods connected them and from there on, it was about pushing each other to be great on the daily. Above all, though, it was about supporting each other during the ups and downs of life\u2014the same way family does.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was just two years later that Azzi would face one of her biggest challenges to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paige and Azzi were both in Colorado Springs participating in USA Basketball\u2019s U18 3×3 tryouts when Paige watched her best friend fall to the floor in pain. They both immediately knew it was bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a picture of when I made it to the trainer\u2019s table,\u201d Azzi recalls. \u201cShe came over and put her hand on me and prayed over it. It almost looked like she got hurt, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would later be confirmed that the then 16-year-old star guard had torn her ACL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was heartbroken for Azzi. Seeing her on the floor had me in tears,\u201d Paige recalls as the usual casualness of her voice disappears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is funny?!\u201d Azzi jumps in jokingly, only to realize that Paige is quietly trying to work through the tears that are now falling. \u201cAw, stop. Really, stop. It\u2019s OK, you don\u2019t need to cry over me,\u201d Azzi jokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collecting her thoughts, Paige continues: \u201cShe\u2019s my ride or die. I\u2019d do anything for her, she\u2019d do anything for me. It\u2019s just, like, you go through a lot of hard times that the cameras don\u2019t see, that the people outside don\u2019t see, and I\u2019ve always confided in her.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough that whole thing, she came and visited me before my surgery. After surgery, she was the first one to call. She was always texting me, checking up on me and making sure that my spirits were high throughout the whole thing,\u201d Azzi says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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