Caitlin Clark Makes Her Opinion of Paige Bueckers Extremely Clear

Paige Bueckers turned in another strong performance on Friday as the Dallas Wings hosted a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever side at American Airlines Center.

The highly touted rookie went off for a team-high 22 points on 7-of-14 from the field, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, while also going 8-for-8 on her attempts from the charity stripe.

Unfortunately for the Wings, not even Bueckers’ strong outing was enough to carry them against a shorthanded Indiana squad. The Fever came and conquered, securing an 88-78 victory to secure their fourth consecutive win.

Caitlin Clark Has High Praise for Paige Bueckers

In a pregame segment aired on Ion’s broadcast of the big game, both Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers had plenty to say about one another. The rivalry narrative surrounding the two has followed them since high school, and it’s only intensified now that they’re both in the WNBA.

Still, Clark had nothing but praise for her longtime counterpart.

"For me, you love going up against really great competitors,” Clark said of Bueckers. “And for myself, I've always been a fan of hers and her game and the way she's been able to carry herself."

"I just think she's smooth in everything that she does. She's efficient. She can shoot it, she can score the mid-range, she can get to the basket. She's a three-level scorer. I think that what makes it so tough is there's just so many different things that she can do."

"At the end of the day, she's a winner, and those are the type of people that you want on your team."