Diana Taurasi has stood at the top of the WNBA, especially in terms of perimeter shooting. Along with her sharpshooting abilities, her effortless and nonchalant shooting action has garnered acclaim for over two decades. Moreover, she is the idol of probably the most impactful WNBA athlete, Caitlin Clark. And she is excited for her debut match-up with the player she has admired the most.
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Tonight, the Indiana Fever will face Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury for the first time during the 2024 WNBA season. Earlier, the Fever guard showcased tremendous admiration towards the WNBA legend and appeared pumped up about the dream face-off. Clark told Desert Wave Media,
“Yes, sure. That is somebody who I grew up idolizing and looking up to and want to be like one day. Obviously, she is one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, greatest scorer the game has ever seen. For me like I’m excited, that’s fun. That’s kinda like a dream come true.”
Here was Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark’s response when asked about facing Diana Taurasi for the first time on Sunday. #WNBA #ValleyTogether #FeverRising https://t.co/cDuBDnCpwO pic.twitter.com/1JUGzApTId
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) June 29, 2024
Meanwhile, when asked about the match-up against Fever’s wonder rookie, Taurasi displayed her usual nonchalance. She also admitted that the match-up is going to be entertaining, “Yeah, it’ll be fun.”
Taurasi stands atop the All-time WNBA three-point leader summit all by herself. Clark would love to conquer this list someday but for now, she is undergoing a lot of growing pains as a rookie.
Diana Taurasi prophesized Caitlin Clark’s struggles in the W
While Clark was en route to her back-to-back NCAA Finals run, Taurasi warned her about transitioning from college to the WNBA. She proclaimed that “reality is coming” for her soon. She declared that playing against teenagers compared to season veterans would make for a tough ride.
At the same time, she stated that Clark would need to soak in the pressure and accept the downs to become a better hooper at the highest level. A lot of CC fans perceived her comments as overly-critical but Taurasi’s prediction turned out to be on-point.
The Fever rookie committed 10 turnovers in her WNBA debut while struggling to generate quality looks like she did in the NCAA scene. After her debut week, the Mercury guard lamented the current media landscape twisting her advice out of context.
At the same time, she also acknowledged that even the greatest players go through struggles, implying that Clark would eventually live up to her reputation. Thus, as the two marquee guards clash for the first time, it would be another alluring tale in the 2024 WNBA season.
While Taurasi is the standard that Clark would wish to achieve, the vet would cherish the chance to school arguably the most popular woman athlete in modern USA sports history.
