Fever's Caitlin Clark, Wings' Paige Bueckers reflect on first WNBA matchup, share admiration for one another

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers have been competing with and against each other for nearly a decade. On Sunday, the two supremely talented guards, and the last two No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA Draft, met for the first time on the professional level. 

The result reflected where their respective teams are at right now, as Clark and the Indiana Fever cruised to a 102-83 win over Bueckers and the Wings, who have the second-worst record in the league. Neither could be disappointed in their individual performance, though. 

While Clark's shooting slump continued, she finished with 14 points, three rebounds, a season-high 13 assists and a career-high-tying five steals. She also had a block, which she quickly turned into two points on the other end with a beautiful fullcourt oulet pass to Sophie Cunningham. 

Ranking Caitlin Clark's best passes from season-high 13-assist performance in Fever win over Wings

Jack Maloney

Bueckers, meanwhile, delivered another steady all-around effort: 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals on 9 of 15 from the field. Her ability to get to her spots and finish is stunning for a rookie. She even took a page out of Clark's book with a deep 3 over the Fever guard. 

The Fever and Wings will meet two more times this season: Aug. 1 in Dallas and Aug. 12 in Indianapolis. Before Clark and Bueckers meet again next month after the All-Star break, here's what the key figures had to say Sunday about their first professional matchup. 

What Clark said about Bueckers:

"I feel like she's played in the same manner that she has since she we were on the [Team USA] U16 team together, [Team USA] U19 team together, whether it was me watching her in AAU," Clark said. "She's always just been smooth, she takes what the game gives her, her middy 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. That's just how she's always played. That's obviously translated really well, and everybody knew that it would. 

"Her ability to just be smooth and go with what the game's gonna give her, she's never gonna force anything. I think it's always been that, and she's continued to stay true to that."

For the season, Bueckers is averaging 18.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals, and is the clear favorite for Rookie of the Year. Among rookies she's first in scoring, sixth in rebounding, first in assists and first in steals. She's also ninth in the league in scoring and eighth in assists. 

"We've always been friends," Clark continued on her relationship with Bueckers. "I wouldn't say that we're best friends and talk all the time. It's hard when you end up going your separate ways and are in different colleges and things like that. I've always been a fan of hers and always been supportive and watch as much as I can just because I love basketball and I love people that compete and make their team better. That's what she does and that's what she's always been able to do. 

"I just admire the way she plays, I admire the confidence she has in herself. Every single night she steps up to the challenge, she doesn't shy away from anything. As a competitor, that's what you really love. I think that's what I appreciate the most and just her leadership, you can feel that, especially at UConn, and now coming into the W I feel like she's certainly a leader of the Wings, whether it was her first game or now in Game 20. I think that she's been that voice for them."

What Bueckers said about Clark:

"It's fun any time we can compete against each other," Bueckers said. "We're two competitors who just want to win and have grown up playing against each other, playing with each other, so it's great. And the environment's great here. I feel like every game is a sell-out so they have a great homecourt advantage."

The Fever are second in the league in attendance this season, averaging 16,013 fans per game. Clark, meanwhile, has been significantly better at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 

Clark's home/road splits

What Fever coach Stephanie White said about Bueckers:

"She always stays neutral. She doesn't get rushed. Her pace, her poise, her decision making, she just has a very neutral mindset," White said. "When you play somebody who is really high IQ, who is elite in all areas and you try to make them uncomfortable, but they kind of just maintain that flow, it makes it tough. That's the difference in good players and great players. She's only, I don't know how many games in. It's fun to watch -- not as an opponent on the sideline. For a lot of young players that come into this league there's a learning curve and how quickly they figure it out is always interesting to see. For Paige, she's figuring it out."