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WNBA Fans Refuse To Accept Truth About Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers
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- WNBA Fans Refuse To Accept Truth About Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers
WNBA Fans Refuse To Accept Truth About Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers originally appeared on Athlon Sports .
Caitlin Clark had one of the best WNBA rookie seasons of all time after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in 2024.
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Clark won WNBA Rookie of the Year while putting up more points (769), assists (337), three-pointers made (122) and triple-doubles (2) than any other first-year player in league history.
Quietly, what 2025 No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers has done so far with the Dallas Wings might be even better.
A comparison between the first nine games of Bueckers' and Clark's rookie seasons emerged on Wednesday. It left some fans uncomfortable when they realized Clark's numbers were not as untouchable as they thought.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (left) and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (right).Trevor Ruszkowski, Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Bolstered by a career-high 35 points in her seventh professional game, Bueckers' stats are eerily similar to Clark's early on in their professional careers.
Their points per game averages in their first nine games as a rookie were essentially even (17.7 to 17.6). Clark had a slight edge in assists per game (6.6 to 5.7), while Bueckers accounted for more steals (2.1 to 1.2) on defense.
Bueckers' trademark efficiency proved the most glaring difference. She shot nearly 10 percentage points better from the field (47.2% to 37.7%) while averaging less than half as many turnovers per game (2.3 to 5.7) as Clark did.
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Despite the facts, fans refused to put Bueckers on Clark's level, claiming that the Fever star faced tougher circumstances than her Wings counterpart.
"Caitlin played 11 games in 20 days against the best teams in the league," said a fan . "3 back to backs too I believe. Paige is great but not a fair comparison yet."
Clark's first nine games came over 17 days, and the Fever came out of it with a 1-8 record.
Bueckers has missed four games this season, so it took her over a month to play her first nine games. Dallas is 2-11 overall, but 2-7 with Bueckers in the lineup.
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"When she's double teamed for 94 feet and plays 11 games in 19 days these stats might matter," said a Clark sympathizer .
"With all due respect Paige isn't having to fight through blocks like Aaron Donald out there in the court like Caitlin," joked another .
"Nothing against Paige but she cant fill seats like CC can," one fan said, bringing off-court metrics into the conversation.
WNBA fans will have a chance to see the two No. 1 picks go head-to-head very soon. The Wings host the Fever on Friday, June 27, in a game that will now take place at the American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Mavericks, to accommodate the demand for tickets.
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Related: Valkyries' Move Before Fever Game Fuels Speculation
Related: Caitlin Clark Issues Demand to Dallas Wings Before Paige Bueckers' WNBA Arrival
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
