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'She Is More Efficient': Caitlin Clark And Paige Bueckers Compared As Former NFL Star Boldly Picks A Side
Sep 18, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts after The Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream during game three of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Is Caitlin Clark the better rookie? Or is UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers the better in the category? For one NFL analyst, the answer is clear, and the winner is separated by one particular distinction.

In a video, former NFL star Emmanuel Acho gave his honest thoughts on the comparison between Catilin Clark and Paige Bueckers for their respective rookie years.

“Paige is a better all-around basketball player,” Acho boldly proclaimed. “To me, she has always been a better all-around player. I think she is a more efficient basketball player. She’s a more fundamentally sound basketball player in my mind. Paige’s efficiency is what’s crazy.”

More than any other stat, Acho highlighted how Bueckers is the more efficient player than Clark.

“I think she shot 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from three, as opposed to Caitlin, who shot 38 percent from the field and 32 percent from three,” Acho said. “Paige’s efficiency is a separating factor for me.”

In 2024, Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut with one of the most impressive rookie seasons ever seen. She averaged 19.2 points per game, 8.4 assists (the highest in the league), and 5.7 rebounds. Her 329 assists broke the single-season rookie record, while her total of 761 points broke a scoring record that had stood for over 20 years.

Clark also rewrote the rookie three-point record with 122 made triples and became the first first-year player to log multiple triple-doubles, performances that earned her near-unanimous Rookie of the Year honors.

Caitlin Clark Praised by Fever HC for bench Contributions

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White praised the team’s star Caitlin Clark for her work on the sideline during the Fever’s playoff run and commented on the guard’s phenomenal court vision.

“Caitlin certainly has a great basketball IQ,” White said. “Her ability to communicate some of the things that she’s seeing on the floor, offensively, defensive coverages, whatever it might be. Where some open opportunities are, encouraging her teammates not to pass up shots because I feel like sometimes we do.”

Clark has only played 13 games this year, which has allowed her to take advantage of the unlucky situation by helping to notify coaches and players about chances to score or about coverage breakdowns. White said she is making more communication efforts with an already thin backcourt that suffered season-ending injuries to important players Aari McDonald and Sophie Cunningham.


Sep 16, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and guard Sophie Cunningham (8) on the sideline during game two of round one against the Atlanta Dream for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

For the 2025 season, Caitlin Clark averaged 16.5 points per game, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds. She shot 36.7% from the field and 27.9% from beyond the arc.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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