She had quite a lot to say.
Caitlin Clark Leaves No Doubt in Her Opinion of Paige Bueckers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
It was Caitlin Clark who came out on top in her very first WNBA meeting against Paige Bueckers. The Indiana Fever made easy work of the Dallas Wings in a dominant display, taking a 102-83 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark did not exactly turn in a mind-blowing performance in this one, finishing with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, however, put on a passing clinic, dishing out 14 dimes, to go along with three rebounds, five steals, a block and two triples in 25 minutes of play.
Bueckers, on the other hand, scored a game-high 21 points on an efficient 9-of-15 from the field. The Wings guard also registered four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two three-pointers in the loss.
While both the fans and the media have built up the narrative involving a personal rivalry between these two young stars, the fact of the matter is that there’s no animosity between them. Clark herself said that she and Bueckers have “always been friends.” The Fever star also had nothing but high praise for her opponent.
“I mean, I feel like she's played in the same manner that she has since she was, you know, whether we were on the U16 team together, U19 team together, whether it's me watching her in AAU,” Clark said of Bueckers before Sunday’s game.
“She's always just been smooth. She takes what the game gives her. Her [mid-range shot] has always been as nice as it's been this year. She just plays way older than she is. She's confident. She's smooth. She just does everything at a high level and can score from all three levels.”
As Clark touched on in her statement, she’s had the privilege of playing alongside Bueckers during their time together as teammates for the national team. Clark went on to say that she had known all along that Bueckers would excel at the pro level.
“That's how she's always played,” Clark continued. “And that's obviously translated really well — and everybody knew that it would. But yeah, I think it's just that her ability to just be smooth and go with what the game's going to give her. She's never going to force anything. I think it's always been that, and she's just continued to stay true to that.”
Clark had a lot to say about Bueckers and her game, which goes to show how much respect the former Iowa star has for the latter.
These two get the chance to go at it again on August 1 when the Fever and the Wings face off in a rematch. Bueckers, in particular, will have something to prove in that one after going down 0-1 to Clark at the WNBA level.
Related: Indiana Fever Fans Cannot Hide Excitement After Seeing Caitlin Clark's Passes in Slow-Mo
Related: Congratulations Pouring In For Fever Star Sophie Cunningham
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
