Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd cut the ribbon Thursday on a newly renovated basketball court at Casa Linda Park in East Dallas, surprising local athletes with an interactive basketball experience before playing a game of knockout with young girls on the freshly painted pavement. The court features a floral design across the surface and backboards, along with a sideline message reading “every princess needs a court” — a nod to Fudd's nickname, the People's Princess.
A Fall Promise Kept
The court was part of a two-year partnership Fudd and Cash App announced earlier in 2026. In its partnership announcement, Cash App said it planned to open a public basketball court for local families and athletes later in the fall as part of its Dallas community efforts. The Dallas Morning News reported that Project Backboard supported the Casa Linda renovation.
Project Backboard describes itself as a 501(c)(3) organization that renovates public basketball courts and adds large-scale, site-specific art. The organization says it has renovated more than 100 courts across more than 25 states and several countries since launching in 2015, according to its website.
The court in its wider context
Dallas Parks lists Casa Linda Park at 1500 San Saba and includes an outdoor basketball court among its amenities. The listing identifies the facility but does not set out court-specific use rules or maintenance plans. The Dallas Parks listing provides the park details. The Women’s Sports Foundation says girls have more than 1.2 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than boys. That national figure offers broader context for the court’s girls-focused design, but does not establish access conditions at Casa Linda, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation. Project Backboard also says it has facilitated more than $4 million in investment in public parks. In a separate project, Cash App reported that on June 18, 2025, it and Angel Reese unveiled a community court in Chicago’s Oakwood Beach with Project Backboard and the Angel C. Reese Foundation. That project involved a different athlete and city from Fudd’s Dallas court, Cash App said.
Fudd Reflects on Her Dallas Welcome
In comments to the Dallas Morning News, Fudd said she hoped the project would let her give back and show young girls what is possible. The newspaper reported that she said Dallas welcomed her after she arrived the day after the April draft, where she was selected No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The court project followed a June youth basketball clinic in North Texas hosted by Fudd and Cash App with a nonprofit focused on empowering girls through sports, education and life-skills programming. Cash App's release names the partner as Rae's Hope; CBS Texas also covered the clinic and donation.
Clinic Included Cash Payments and a Surprise Visit
Cash App donated $35,000 to the nonprofit as part of the June 2 clinic, the company said in its press materials. Every participating child in the clinic was also set to receive a $100 Cash App deposit, and Fudd made a surprise appearance that day, leading an interactive mini-camp for the young athletes in attendance.
Cash App's October 2024 partnership with Angel Reese included women's sports initiatives and community-court renovation, according to the company. That work was separate from Fudd's Dallas project.
A Rookie Season Interrupted by Injury
Fudd, 23, was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.7 assists per game in her first professional season, according to the Dallas Morning News. She also became the first rookie in WNBA history to win the league's 3-Point Contest, per WFAA.
Her inaugural season was cut short by a right knee injury, and she underwent arthroscopic surgery in August, the Dallas Morning News reports. The Wings ended their regular season and went on to a playoff run that ended in the first round against the Golden State Valkyries, who went on to reach the WNBA Finals.
Beyond the court renovation, Fudd has appeared in a new Space Jam-themed Jordan Brand advertisement and said she has many offseason activities planned, though she added that she did not yet know the rest of her offseason schedule, according to the Dallas Morning News. Her youth basketball outreach has also extended beyond Dallas: a camp with sessions open to boys and girls ages 7 to 18 was slated for Washington, D.C., in September before heading to Dallas later that month, per WFAA.
