Paige Bueckers Sends Clear Message About Caitlin Clark After Wings-Fever Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Jul 13, 2025 5:11 PM ET

For the first time as professionals, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and rookie Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings faced off Sunday in a matchup that was all Indiana from start to finish.

The Fever improved to 11-10 on the season with a dominant 102–83 win, while the Wings dropped to 6-16.

Despite the loss, Bueckers continued her strong rookie campaign, finishing with a game-high 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Clark had an impressive showing as well, recording 14 points, 13 assists, five steals, and three rebounds.

After the game, Bueckers spoke highly of Clark, with the two sharing a long-standing mutual respect that dates back to their AAU and college days.

“It’s fun anytime you can compete against each other. We're two competitors. We both want to win,” Bueckers said. “The environment’s great here… they have a great home court advantage... She's just a very smart basketball player.”

Favorite shot of the night

Love these two and capturing women’s sports pic.twitter.com/ytZVzA0RtQ
— Bri Lewerke (@brilewerke) July 13, 2025

The two nearly met earlier this season, but Caitlin Clark was sidelined with a quad injury at the time. Prior to Sunday’s game, their last head-to-head matchup came in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, when Clark and Iowa defeated Bueckers and UConn.

Still, both players have made immediate impacts in the WNBA. Clark claimed Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, and Bueckers is currently the heavy favorite to win the award in 2025—despite the Wings still being far from playoff contention.

Following Sunday’s game, Fever head coach Stephanie White was asked about her thoughts on Bueckers and had extremely high praise for the rookie.

"She always stays neutral," White said. "She doesn't get rushed, her pace, her poise, her decision making…when you play somebody that is really high IQ and is elite in all areas…and they just try and maintain that flow, it makes it tough. That’s the difference between good players and great players. It’s fun to watch, not an as opponent on the sideline...for Paige she’s figuring it out."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: