The battle of the top draft picks is always a story to watch in the WNBA, and the same happened with Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. The Indiana Fever’s first overall pick in 2024 will face the Dallas Wings’ 2025 top pick in the season-opener of the 2026 season. However, Bueckers, in her recent statement, blamed the media for pitting her against Clark.
Bueckers featured on Not Gonna Lie with Kyle Kelce’s latest episode, where she talked about her relationship with Caitlin Clark and how the media has tried to pit her against the Wings guard. She said:
“It’s crazy coz like everybody’s pinned me and Caitlin against each other for the longest time and we’re cool, we’re friends. But again it’s respect to the competition, so we understand, we understand how media works and how they are supposed to pin two people against each other, and they’re supposed to hate each othe and blah, blah, blah!”
Initially, Bueckers also reminisced about her time playing alongside Clark at the Junior Olympics level earlier and even claimed that they “had the best U16-U17 team to ever exist.” The two will again team up for the Team USA senior women’s basketball at the LA Olympics.
Bueckers said that it would be interesting to see the two rival fan clubs come together to support one team, as she admitted that playing for Team USA at the Olympics was “the highest level we can represent ourselves for our country.” Before that, the two guards will take the court against each other for the first time in the WNBA in the season-opener on May 9.
Caitlin Clark and Co. will take on Paige Bueckers’ squad in WNBA season-opener
The 2026 WNBA regular season will begin on May 9, 2026, with the opening day featuring four games, including the highly anticipated Indiana Fever-Dallas Wings showdown at the Fever’s home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The game might feature four top draft picks: Aliyah Boston (2023 first overall), Caitlin Clark (2024 top pick), Paige Bueckers (2025 top pick), and Wings’ 2026 top pick.
The Fever team’s social media account also expressed excitement on Instagram and invited fans to witness the battle.
While young players feel a little awkward about an on-court rivalry, while being close friends in real life, various other athletes have managed to do it, be it Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal or LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
A healthy rivalry gives audiences a storyline to support their favorite athletes and feel that tussle even off the court. Clark has already brought a lot of attention to the league and continues to do so with her electric plays. Such storylines are important for the league, and the WNBA needs them now more than ever.
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