Bueckers Could Face an Injured Clark in Their First WNBA Matchup

The two young stars are slated to meet for the first time as pros when the Dallas Wings take on the Indiana Fever.

Caitlin Clark (22) of the Iowa Hawkeyes dribbles around Paige Bueckers (5) of the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland on April 5, 2024. Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Dallas Wings rookie guard and recent No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers understands what Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark, last year’s No. 1 pick, is going through.

Bueckers has dealt with the spotlight of being a highly touted top pick this season, and she has succeeded with 17.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in 12 contests this season. But  Bueckers recognizes that what Clark has been through with the physical on-court pressure and the off-court scrutiny is at another level.

The two stars will meet for the first time as WNBA players on Friday in Dallas if Clark plays despite her groin injury. Clark didn’t play Thursday in the Fever’s 85–75 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

“I would just say she handles it with grace, and the pressure that she’s put on every single night to perform at the level that she does—it’s inhumane, really, to expect people to be perfect and to not have off games or off nights,” Bueckers told reporters on Thursday.

“If she doesn’t go eight for 10 from three, people are questioning things. It’s unfair to have to deal with that,” Bueckers added. “But I’m sure she has a great team around her and great people to help her.”

Clark’s second season has been marred by injury, missed shots, and altercations as she has taken a physical pounding from opponents. She’s averaging 18.2 points, five rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game, but her shooting numbers of 39 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from three-point range are noticeably down.

“She’s a great person at dealing with it, and just tuning out the noise and just continuing to be there for herself and for her team,” Bueckers said. “The expectations—it’s tough when you listen to it, so I’m sure she has a great way of tuning it out.”

Bueckers and Clark go back to their AAU days since they grew up in neighboring states—Minnesota and Iowa, respectively. They competed against each other in numerous AAU tournaments, and they played together for the U.S. junior national team in 2017 and 2019, as they won gold twice.

“People always wanted to set up matchups between Hopkins (Minnesota) and Dowling (Iowa) like all the time,” Clark told reporters in 2024, CT Insider reported. “She’s always been dominant. Every team that she’s ever been on, she’s led them to great success. That’s just what she does. She’s just a winner.”

Bueckers and Clark went in very different directions for college as Clark stayed in state to play at Iowa, but Bueckers passed on Minnesota and went to Connecticut. They met only twice in college, but those matchups became two of the most notable women’s college games in years.

“Obviously a good friend of mine, a tremendous player,” Clark told reporters in 2021 via NBC Sports ahead of their first collegiate matchup.

Clark’s Hawkeyes came up short to UConn 92–72 in the 2021 Sweet 16. She scored 21 points and dished out five assists in the loss. Bueckers nearly had a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds.

“I love her game,” Bueckers said of Clark before the 2021 matchup.

They met again in 2024 at the women’s Final Four when Clark led the Hawkeyes to a 71–69 win over the Huskies. Clark scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, just a board shy of a double-double. Bueckers had 17 points and four rebounds in the loss.

At that time, Clark had become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer while Bueckers was coming back from an ACL tear. Clark told reporters in 2024 via ESPN that she kept in touch with Bueckers and encouraged her in her comeback.

“We’ve known each other for a very long time. We’ve been competing against and with each other for a very long time. … I mean Caitlin’s a competitor, she’s a winner,“ Bueckers told reporters in 2024, CT Insider reported. ”She’s a great basketball player, everybody sees it. She does so much for the game.”