Latest news with #WAGTalk
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
I started asking NBA WAGs questions. Now, millions are watching.
Maddy Sells on "WAG Talk" — and getting the scoop on Paige Bueckers's girlfriend. 'How well do you know your NBA husband?' It's a question you may have heard as you scroll through social media, and it's one Maddy Sells is directing at the wives (and girlfriends, aka WAGs) of NBA players as they hang out courtside or loiter near the locker room. Sells — the woman behind the video series WAG Talk — will quiz each WAG about their partner's playing history before revealing who they're coupled up with. In the case of WNBA No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers, who got the WAG Talk treatment during WNBA All-Star Weekend last week, the answer is her former UConn teammate Azzi Fudd. Bueckers's interview with Sells hard launched the two players' relationship for the first time, nearly breaking the internet in the process. For Sells, who grew up playing basketball and idolizing teams like the Miami Heat, putting WAGs — a group of women so often subjected to stereotypes — in the spotlight is a response to something she noticed early on through her own fandom: It was men who dominated the conversation, while their partners sat on the sidelines. With WAG Talk, the sports marketing major is handing WAGs the mic and racking up millions of clicks in the process. And with her recent expansion to include not just the NBA but the WNBA and their other halves (like Bueckers and Fudd) too, she's also giving queer relationships their due. In this interview with Yahoo's Kerry Justich, Sells shares in her own words how she's created a brand out of platforming wives and girlfriends — and what it means for the future of sports coverage. I started WAG Talk in February at the Miami Heat Gala. I would see these couples walking the red carpet, and the media would interview all the players while the wives and girlfriends would stand to the side and listen. There were a lot of really cool women who were not getting interviewed at all, which I felt was such a missed opportunity. Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s girlfriend is Dominique Ruotolo, a Division I track runner, and Kevin Love's wife [Kate Love] is a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model. There are just so many cool stories to be told about these women, and they didn't really have the platform. So I thought that would be the perfect place to launch the start of WAG Talk. I got about five interviews there, the biggest one being Tyler Herro's girlfriend [Katya Elise Henry]. That video got 31 million views on TikTok. So I was like, OK, people really do have an appetite for this content. A different point of entry for sports fans When I started working with [the media company] Enjoy Basketball, I came in knowing that it was a super, super positive brand. Everything that they do is just to uplift athletes and to be very positive about growing the game. So I wanted to make this series really, really positive and something that I know the women will have fun playing along with. I feel like my audience has been changing with every single video that I post. It's finally become a 50-50 split of men and women following WAG Talk, which is really nice. I think people watch it for different reasons. There's an audience of women who are really interested in fashion and just everything with the WAG-related lifestyle. There are also plenty of women who love sports and want to follow along to see if they can get the questions right about the athlete. The same goes for the male audience. A lot of guys tell me that WAG Talk is their guilty pleasure because they like to see if they can figure out who the player is before the reveal. That's how I wanted to get viewers engaged in this series. There's been a ton of negativity on the content in the past from people who think really negatively about wives and girlfriends of players. But there was kind of a big switch [during WNBA All-Star Weekend], with so much positivity from WNBA fans. I gained a whole new audience. Paige Bueckers's hard launch She was definitely at the very top of my list. I went into the weekend preparing a bunch of different WAG Talk questions for tons of different people, and I was able to get Paige and Natasha [Cloud, of the New York Liberty] on the orange carpet. I honestly wasn't expecting them to say yes to the interview. I never want to make anyone uncomfortable talking about a relationship that they're not ready to talk about. But when I noticed that Paige was really comfortable with it, I was like, 'OK, let's do this.' She was so happy when I said, 'How well do you know your D1 girlfriend?' Her smile just made my day. Other content creators in sports, like Aliyah Funschelle, were around me too. She had interviewed Paige right before I did, so after my interview happened, she looked at me and said, 'Maddy, I think that was the hard launch. You need to go.' I was like, 'Oh, I gotta sprint to my hotel to edit this because this is going to go absolutely crazy.' The response to it has been amazing. The Paige video has 11 million views, and the one with Natasha Cloud [speaking about her girlfriend and Liberty teammate Isabelle Harrison] has 7 million. So there clearly is a big appetite for knowing about these relationships and women's sports in general. These videos have a lot more views than a lot of NBA videos. The importance of WNBA coverage Pride Month is when I first did a WNBA WAG Talk, and it was with [New York Liberty star] Breanna Stewart's wife. And that was very intentional. The WNBA content has really hit the queer community, which is super cool. They just like seeing the LGBTQ community being promoted in sports, finally. I still do want to include the HABs [husbands and boyfriends of women athletes]. As such a big Heat fan, [Miami player] Bam Adebayo and [Las Vegas Aces center] A'ja Wilson are my favorite couple ever, and I've been wanting to do a video with them. But seeing how excited and happy the women are while talking about their [female] partners has shown the world so much positivity when it comes to the queer community. Over the weekend, we went from 48,000 [followers] on TikTok to 73,000. Seeing how powerful the female audience is and just how much they love this switch of WAG Talk going into the WNBA has been really, really cool to see. It just proved how big an appetite there is for women's sports. When you make the content, the audience will come. There are plenty of WNBA fans out there. There needs to be more content being created around it, because these women deserve huge platforms. They deserve to be able to tell their stories. This has been edited for length and clarity. Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WNBA star Paige Bueckers confirms relationship with 'D1 girlfriend,' Azzi Fudd
On the heels of being named a WNBA All-Star, Dallas Wings rookie guard Paige Bueckers confirmed she is officially off the market after discussing her girlfriend in a recent interview. During an interview with WAG Talk, a popular social media brand highlighting "wives and girlfriends" of professional athletes, Bueckers was asked a series of questions about her "D1 girlfriend." At the end of the line of questioning, she identified her partner as her former UConn Huskies teammate Azzi Fudd. Bueckers and Fudd played together at UConn for four seasons, with the two winning an NCAA Championship this year. The questions asked by WAG Talk ranged from Fudd's basketball career to the text on the UConn guard's phone case, which Bueckers affectionately said reads: "Paige Bueckers' girlfriend". A trio of rookies, consisting of Bueckers and Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron and forward Kiki Iriafen, are slated to play in the WNBA All-Star game on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET at the Indiana Fever's arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, in Indianapolis. 'We were worried for a second there' Underneath the WAG Talk interview, TikTok users flooded the comment section, with one of them calling Bueckers' announcement a "hard launch." "ok this is like THE REALL hard launch," the user commented. NaLyssa Smith, a forward for the Las Vegas Aces, commented underneath the interview: "awwwwww my baby's all grown up." Gatorade, which named Fudd its 2018-19 National Player of the Year, also chimed in on the fun in the comment section, writing, "We were worried for a second there," seemingly joking about how long it took Bueckers to answer some of the questions in the video. Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@
NBC News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
WNBA star Paige Bueckers confirms she's dating former teammate Azzi Fudd
WNBA star Paige Bueckers confirmed she's dating her former teammate Azzi Fudd, and fans are calling it a 'hard launch.' During a July 17 interview with WAG Talk, the Dallas Wings guard was asked to answer a few questions about her 'D1 girlfriend,' and at the end, she revealed the person she was referring to was Fudd, her former UConn Huskies teammate. Some of the questions Bueckers answered were about Fudd's basketball career, her family and the writing that's on Fudd's phone case, which says 'Paige Bueckers' girlfriend' — and she answered them with a smile. In the comments, fans said they were happy for the couple. 'Ok this is like THE REALL hard launch 😭,' one person wrote. 'She cheesing mad hard too, that's her girl fr,' another said. A third added, 'This interviewer deserves a raise... I dream for nights like this.' Gatorade, who named Fudd its 2018-19 National Player of the Year, also got in on the fun. In the comments, the brand seemingly joked about how long it took Bueckers to answer some of the questions. In the video, she would sometimes take a moment to think about her answer before saying it out loud. 'We were worried for a second there,' Gatorade's account wrote. After answering a series of questions about what WAG Talk described as her 'D1 girlfriend,' Bueckers was asked to do a 'girlfriend reveal.' 'Azzi Fudd,' the athlete answered with a smile. In June, eagle-eyed fans noticed Fudd's phone case appeared to read 'Paige Bueckers' girlfriend.'
New York Post
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Paige Bueckers reveals she's dating former UConn teammate Azzi Fudd
Paige Bueckers passed the test — and a WNBA-UConn relationship is publicly confirmed. On Thursday, the 2025 WNBA No.1 overall pick was asked a series of questions about her former teammate and long-time rumored girlfriend, Azzi Fudd, during an interview with WAG Talk while on the orange carpet during an event for the league's All-Star weekend. 'How well do you know your D1 girlfriend?' the interviewer asked as a smile quickly grew on Bueckers' face. The Wings star went on to correctly answer questions such as where Fudd went to high school, the year she was named Gatorade Player of the Year, her rank in the class of 202 and the year in which she made her first collegiate start. 4 Paige Buckers answers questions about Azzi Fudd on the orange red carpet of a WNBA All-Star event on Thursday. Instagram @espnw She also nailed questions about what college Fudd's dad played basketball for, the basketball player she was named after and the award she won for her national championship performance. Finally, Bueckers was also asked about what Fudd's phone case says, which was revealed to say 'Paige Buckers' girlfriend' in a viral Instagram story in June. Bueckers confirmed the phone case and the WAG Talk interview ended with the standard question 'Girlfriend reveal it's…' and the former UConn star confirmed, 'Azzi Fudd.' 4 Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are seen at 'Good Morning America' on April 16, 2025 in New York City. GC Images 4 Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers at The WNBA Draft 2025 held at The Shed on April 14, 2025 in New York, New York. WWD via Getty Images The pair have been long rumored to be in a relationship after they won a national championship together in April and many of their fans were satisfied to have it all confirmed. Prior to Thursday night, Bueckers also teased a confirmation of the relationship. Following the ESPYs on Wednesday, she shared a photo of Fudd on the red carpet on her Instagram Story, along with three hot face emojis, per Parade. Bueckers also answered several other questions on the orange carpet, including one asking her if her life was on the line, who would she let take a last second shot to save her. She quickly said, 'I'm picking Azzi Fudd.' 4 Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd speak with the media at the conclusion of the 2025 NCAA Div I Women's Championship Final Four game between UConn Huskies and UCLA Bruins on April 4, 2025. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Fudd passed on the WNBA draft in April to pursue another year at UConn, where she will be a graduate student. She was expected to be a first-round pick, but still attended the draft with Bueckers. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 13.6 points per game and led her team with a 43.6 clip from beyond the arc.
Pink Villa
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Are Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd dating? All you need to know about couple who just made it official
They met as teens at a USA Basketball camp, became college teammates at UConn, and now they have confirmed what fans have suspected for years: Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd are officially dating. The announcement came during a WNBA All-Star event in Indianapolis on July 17, when Bueckers proudly named Fudd as her 'D1 girlfriend.' For fans, it was the confirmation of a slow-build love story that's been taking place in plain sight, whether they were on the court or the grass. 'It's Azzi Fudd': Bueckers confirms long-rumored romance The reveal happened during a WAG Talk segment, where Bueckers was quizzed on how well she knows her girlfriend. She nailed every question—Fudd's high school, her awards, even the message on her phone case. The case in question was shown in a viral selfie weeks earlier, and read: 'Paige Bueckers' Girlfriend.' The hint was hard to ignore. But now, it's no longer just a hint. When prompted for a name, Bueckers answered clearly: 'Azzi Fudd.' Fans celebrated in the TikTok's comment section, noting the lengthy journey from rumor to reality, saying they 'prayed for times like this' and that the duo had 'come a long way.' A few even pointed out that Bueckers, while talking about Fudd, 'was smiling so hard the whole time.' A public relationship built on private history Bueckers and Fudd go way back—before the viral selfies and All-Star carpets. They were friends and teammates at UConn, where Bueckers reportedly played a key role in recruiting Fudd to the program. Their connection deepened through championship runs, rehab sessions, and constant support. When they're not on the hardwood, the two have been spotted arm in arm at Dallas Wings games, FaceTiming in cowboy fits, and rocking matching 'A' and 'P' necklaces. Fudd, still at UConn for her final collegiate season, continues to share clips of their life together—playful TikToks, sideline cuddles, and mid-season visits. Now that the romance is official, fans will be cheering the couple on for more than one reason: on-court wins and off-court representation.
