If first Caitlin Clark-Paige Bueckers matchup was any indication, WNBA's future is in great hands

New York Times

18 hours ago

INDIANAPOLIS — Paige Bueckers raced down the court as Sophie Cunningham backpedaled to get between her and the rim. The Dallas Wings star was relentless in her attack, taking the ball straight through Cunningham's chest and muscling it up through the Indiana Fever wing's arms. After the ball bounced around the rim and fell through the net for an and-1 layup, Bueckers gave a quick fist pump.
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That's when it happened.
The sellout crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, typically rooting heavily in favor of Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, couldn't help itself Sunday. The sea of fans, most wearing Clark's jersey and some donning Bueckers', approved of Bueckers' tough bucket with a gasp, as if a rookie wasn't supposed to be this good this fast. That sequence served as a vocal reminder during Indiana's eventual 102-83 victory that amid the WNBA's rise, Clark isn't the only face of this new era. Others are deserving of the spotlight, too, including Bueckers, and the league is better off because of it.
'(There are) a lot of young people that are gonna be out there in the stands that can continue to watch the way they go about their business, the way that they handle greatness,' Fever coach Stephanie White said in her pregame news conference. '(The youngsters) don't see what they've done to get to this point, but I think both Caitlin and Paige do a really good job of openly discussing the work that it takes.
'In my day, it was watching Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie, and in their day, it's watching Caitlin and Paige.'
Both young point guards authored illustrious collegiate careers. Clark led Iowa to back-to-back national championship appearances and is the NCAA's all-time leading scorer. Bueckers led UConn to two national championship appearances and captured the program's 12th title earlier this year.
The hype they built as amateurs has followed them into the pros, and so far, they have proved they deserve it. Sunday was the latest example, as Clark and Bueckers starred in their first duel as pros. Clark finished with 14 points and 13 assists and tied her career high with five steals as Indiana tied its season high with 102 points. Bueckers turned in a team-high 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, marking her eighth 20-point game in just 17 WNBA outings. She also had four rebounds and four assists.
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Before Sunday, the last time Bueckers and Clark squared off was when Clark's Iowa bested Bueckers' UConn in the 2024 Final Four. A lot has changed since then, as Clark and Bueckers were each selected with the first pick in the WNBA Draft (Clark in 2024, Bueckers in 2025) and have become the centerpieces of their franchises. This year, they were named All-Star Game starters and will face each other on the same court again in six days when WNBA All-Star Weekend descends upon Indianapolis.
'I think if you asked both of us how life could've panned out, nobody could've expected it to be like this,' Bueckers said before the game. 'We're very grateful. We're very blessed to be able to play and be in this position that we are. We don't take this for granted, so it's an honor to be on the floor and compete against each other.'
The perspective Bueckers shared on her and Clark's ascension and their duty to deliver in the 'entertainment business' wasn't just lip service. After each complimented the other in their pregame media availability, they displayed that mutual respect by refusing to back down on the hardwood.
Caitlin Clark picks it off and lays it in 💨 pic.twitter.com/YeyjyRpwHd
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 13, 2025
Less than two minutes into the game, Clark stole a cross-court pass from Bueckers and raced the other way for a fast-break layup. She intercepted two more Bueckers passes as Indiana turned Dallas' 18 turnovers into 23 points. Not to be deterred, Bueckers responded to Clark's first-quarter steal with a deep 3-pointer, as if to say Clark wasn't the only one with range. Bueckers followed that up with a sweep-through move on Fever rookie Mikayla Timpson near the baseline that should've been called a foul. Even without the whistle, Bueckers was able to knock down the 17-foot jumper through contact.
'She just plays way older than she is,' Clark said of fellow 23-year-old Bueckers. 'She's confident. She's smooth. She just does everything at a high level. Can score from all three levels, and that's how she's always played. And that's obviously translated really well. Everybody knew that it would.'
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White praised Clark and Bueckers for their continued growth despite the unceasing demands they face because of their stardom. Neither can go back to their old lives, before they were world-renowned basketball players and were just wide-eyed kids with big dreams. Now that they've realized those dreams, nearly every fan in every city is asking for an autograph or a selfie these days — one even handed their baby to Bueckers for a photo Sunday — yet they've navigated their new jobs with the grace to appreciate the moment and the professionalism to still deliver.
That's the duality the game's greatest have mastered and the balance Bueckers and Clark must strike, year after year, to join them.
'Everybody wants to see star players. You think about LeBron (James) and Steph (Curry), it's those kind of matchups (that draw you in),' White said when describing Clark and Bueckers. 'To watch these guys for the first time and going into their WNBA careers is gonna be special.'
If Sunday was any indication, there's a lot more 'special' on the horizon.