Paige Bueckers Makes Her Feelings On Caitlin Clark Extremely Clear
11/17/2024 07:38 PM
If the mock drafts are accurate, Paige Bueckers is set to succeed Caitlin Clark as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft.
Clark and Bueckers faced off multiple times in college, including at the 2024 Final Four, where Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes pulled out a narrow 71-69 win over Bueckers and the Connecticut Huskies. The two have been compared to each other numerous times, which would make you think there could be a budding rivalry between the two star guards.
That does not appear to be the case. Bueckers had plenty of praise for Clark during the summer, and continued to speak highly of the WNBA Rookie of the Year when she sat down with Fox Sports for a recent interview.
With Clark back at Iowa this weekend to watch her former program, Fox Sports produced a video featuring college basketball luminaries like Bueckers, her coach Geno Auriemma, current Iowa head coach Jan Jansen and USC star JuJu Watkins speaking about the impact Clark has had.
"Caitlin brought so much new attention to the rise of women's college basketball and the WNBA and women's sports in general," Bueckers said in the clip. "I feel like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. And she just has this heavy burden to carry and she does it with grace and humility."
Watkins also praised Clark as a "great player" and "good person as well."
Paige Bueckers and Juju Watkins talk about Caitlin's impact 🥹
— correlation (@nosyone4) November 17, 2024
"I feel like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. And she just has this heavy burden to carry and she does it with grace and humility." pic.twitter.com/QlhPZfTFpw
It's great to see Bueckers' comments here. Women's hoops is in great hands moving forward with her, Clark, Watkins and others.
Off to a hot start this season for the Huskies, Bueckers could wind up being first off the board to the Dallas Wings, winners of Sunday's lottery for the No. 1 pick of the WNBA Draft.
"Bueckers' efficiency and versatility make her an excellent candidate to transition seamlessly to the pro game," writes ESPN's Michael Voepel. "Bueckers has one more year of college eligibility left because of the COVID-19 waiver from 2020-21, but she has approached this as her final season with the Huskies. Might the outcome of the lottery impact her decision? We'll wait and find out."
Related: Paige Bueckers Gives Her Honest Opinion Of WNBA Star Caitlin Clark
