Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will get to square off against one of the WNBA greats come Sunday afternoon.
Like many things with Clark and the WNBA during her rookie season, it’ll be dripping with drama, too.
The Fever’s five-game road trip continues on Friday with a date at the Seattle Storm at 9 p.m. CT. Then, on Sunday, Indiana travels to Phoenix to take on Diana Taurasi and the Mercury.
Taurasi has been a fixture in the WNBA and on the Olympic scene for Team USA for multiple decades. The 42-year-old guard has been a part of five Olympic gold medal winning teams and will have a chance to make that a sixth later on this summer in the Paris Games.
Taurasi also won three NCAA championships with UConn before becoming a 10-time WNBA All-Star, a three-time WNBA champion and a two-time WNBA Finals MVP.
In the world of women’s basketball, Taurasi is one of the greatest and one of the most respected. With that status, when she speaks, people listen.
Such was the case during the 2024 NCAA Tournament as Clark and Iowa were marching to the national championship game against South Carolina. Taurasi drew national attention and headlines with her remarks to Scott Van Pelt on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” after the Hawkeyes knocked off UConn in the Final Four to advance to a second straight national championship game.
Asked by Van Pelt what the league would have in store for Clark and her fellow rookie class when they got there, Taurasi shared her honest assessment.
“Look, SVP, reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing, and that’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side where you look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.
“Not saying that it’s not going to translate, because when you’re great at what you do, you’re just going to get better, but there is going to be a transition period where you’re going to have to give yourself some grace as a rookie. It might take a little bit longer for some people,” Taurasi said.
That response generated quite the reaction. Some viewed it as Taurasi throwing shade or wondered if it was a controversial response. In the months since, others feel Taurasi has been vindicated in her stance.
On Wednesday, Taurasi was asked what her thoughts were on facing Clark for the first time on Sunday. Taurasi wasn’t as long winded this time around.
This was Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi’s response when asked about facing Caitlin Clark for the first time on Sunday. #WNBA #ValleyTogether pic.twitter.com/6PbiSe8BRY
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) June 26, 2024
“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Taurasi said.
It seems pretty clear that Taurasi isn’t trying to get back into the weeds of this whole discussion. At least not right with the game on the horizon.
After her initial comments to Van Pelt before the national championship game, Taurasi did double down on her remarks.
“The new fans are really sensitive these days and you can’t say anything,” Taurasi said in late April. “It’s kind of like when you go from kindergarten to first grade there’s a learning adjustment, when you go from high school to college there’s a learning adjustment. I don’t think I said anything that wasn’t factually correct. Like anything, greatness is going to translate and she’s proven that in every level and I don’t see that being any different in the WNBA.”
While there’s certainly been growing pains, Clark has had a solid rookie season that has included some record-breaking performances. Clark is averaging 16.3 points, 6.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. The 6-foot guard is shooting 39.9% from the field, 35.2% from 3-point range and 88.9% from the free throw line.
Clark just became the first rookie in league history to score 15 or more points, dish out 10 or more assists and connect on five or more 3-pointers in a WNBA game during the Fever’s 88-87 loss at the Chicago Sky. Clark also set the Indiana Fever single-game franchise record for assists with 13 helpers against the Sky.
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