Diana Taurasi and Caitlin Clark will face off for the first time on Sunday in Phoenix, and the game should not be short of drama in a duel of old school and new school.
Taurasi, 42, has spoken out about Clark’s transition from college to the WNBA, previously warning that “reality is coming” for the Fever rookie.
However, the three-time WNBA champion and 10-time All-Star didn’t have much to say Wednesday when asked about the highly anticipated matchup.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” she said, according to Desert Wave Media.
Taurasi perhaps is trying to avoid creating another stir ahead of her first head-to-head matchup with the former Iowa superstar after her April comments.
“And that’s just life, we all went through it,” Taurasi said during an appearance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt when asked about Clark and Kamilla Cardoso, who was selected No. 3 overall by the Sky. “You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds but you’re going to come [play] with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time. Not saying it’s not gonna translate, because when you’re great at what you do, you’re just gonna get better.
“But there is gonna be a transition period, where you’re gonna have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.”
She has since double downed on those remarks after receiving backlash for her stance.
“The new fans are really sensitive these days and you can’t say anything,” Taurasi said. “It’s kind of like when you go from kindergarten to first grade there’s a learning adjustment, when you go from high school to college there’s a learning adjustment. I don’t think I said anything that wasn’t factually correct. Like anything, greatness is going to translate and she’s proven that in every level and I don’t see that being any different in the WNBA.”
Taurasi also commented around the uproar against Caitlin Clark’s snub from the U.S. women’s basketball Olympics squad, reassuring Clark that “everything will fall into place” once she adjusts fully from college to the pros.
Clark, 22, has had growing pains throughout her rookie season among adjusting to the physical nature of the league, but she holds an average of 16.3 points and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 39 percent from the field.
She also set a franchise record for the Fever with 13 assists against the Sky in what was also a record-breaking viewership game, drawing in 2.302 million viewers on ESPN for the most-watched WNBA broadcast in 23 years.
Clark is leading the race for the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award, which Taurasi won in 2004 after coming off of three NCAA championships at UConn.
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