Apparently there are people who are skeptical about the friendship between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. WNBA legend Megan Rapinoe was seemingly not convinced when the UConn star said she and the former Iowa star were friends off-court.
Rapinoe, a former soccer player who played as a winger for the OL Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League and the US women’s national team, isn’t the biggest expert on women’s basketball, but she has one of the best in the sport by her side—her fiancee, WNBA legend Sue Bird.
The former winger expressed her thoughts on Clark and Bueckers’ friendship in a March 2021 interview with Insider.
“I really do want to see the ‘Buckets’ vs Clark clash,” Rapinoe said. “I want to see that go down. I want them to guard each other. I want the whole thing to happen. I want the storylines.”
Rapinoe then talked about wanting to see a rivalry form between the two rising stars of women’s basketball.
“Both of them keep saying how close they are, which, that’s just fueling the drama in me. They’re just saying this in the media so they don’t have to be rivals,” Rapinoe added.
In 2021, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers played against each other in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. The Huskies defeated the Hawkeyes, 92-72. Clark then went on to have one of the most iconic runs in college basketball history, leading the Hawkeyes to two back-to-back championship game appearances and becoming the NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer.
While Clark declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft, Bueckers decided to play one more season with UConn. In her past three seasons with the Huskies, she has been a two-time Big East Player of the Year and a two-time Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Clark was selected by the Indiana Fever as the first overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft and was eventually named the Rookie of the Year. Bueckers is expected to join her in the WNBA and be the number one pick of the 2025 draft.
Sue Bird reflects on Caitlin Clark’s influence on the WNBA
On Wednesday’s episode of Sue Bird’s “A Touch More” podcast, the WNBA legend shared her thoughts on Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise and her influence and her influence on the women’s league. The WNBA was not in a great position the past few years, but the arrival of Clark, Angel Reese, and other rising stars changed the league’s landscape.
The WNBA saw an increase in viewership and attendance, especially in games that involved the Indiana Fever star. Bird, however, offered a different opinion on the league’s sudden rise in popularity.
“The fire was going. It was burning. And it was burning brighter… but Caitlin came, and she poured gasoline all over that thing and just took it to another level,” Bird said.
A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe:
On Caitlin Clark and White Privilege + Boxer Claressa Shields Chats “The Fire Inside”This week, Megan and Sue sit down for an insightful conversation with Claressa Shields, arguably the greatest female boxer of all time, and subject… pic.twitter.com/wARupzim72
— Caitlin Clark & Lexie Hull News (@22CCnews) December 18, 2024
According to Bird, the WNBA was already rising in popularity by itself, and Caitlin Clark simply served as a catalyst for the process to speed up. It is also why she agrees that the young star deserves her TIME Athlete of the Year honor.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
