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Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark are two WNBA players who will be forever linked to the growth of women's basketball. However, that link has also caused fans to compare the two guards.
Bueckers spoke about the comparison and similarities between her and Clark while speaking with Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints.
"I think, running my own race, not running a race in comparison. Because in all honesty, I don't think me and Caitlin play at all alike. But I understand growing up in the same class, the same generation, both guards… I don't know, but I don't think we play alike," Bueckers said
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"Those comparisons are just media driven, narrative driven. And they're good for the game in terms of getting people to talk about it and it being a talking point. So I'm sure we both have gotten used to it. I used to think about it and internalize it a little bit more, but now working on myself, working on being present and embracing the people around me and just working on getting better every single day has kind of helped me," Bueckers continued.
Fans have reacted to Bueckers' comments from the ClutchPoints story, with some fans agreeing with Bueckers that the comparisons are unnecessary and wrong.
"If she did have a better rookie year somehow, they still would both have had amazing rookie years. (And that's still possible even if she doesn't outperform Clark). I feel like the significance of Paige for some ppl is so they can say of Clark 'see, she's not that good, it's all hype'. And the memory of Clark's rookie success can be ignored. And some other ppl use Clark to denigrate Paige the same way..." another fan wrote.
"She gets it. The comparisons ARE media driven, because it's a low hanging fruit narrative. As simple as it sounds, it does grab fans. Once they get in the door, they can appreciate the different styles of play," one fan said.
"She has such a better head on her shoulders than I did at her age. I continue to be massively impressed every time I hear from her," a fan commented.
Several more fans commented on how impressive the response was from Bueckers.
"Great response from Paige. Play your own game," a fan said.
"Amazing answer from paige as always," another fan wrote.
"There we go. Great response from her. She needs to shut it down as early as possible because we all know every talking head is gonna go for this angle this season," one fan said.
Bueckers and Clark will be talked about throughout the season, especially as Bueckers attempts to make her run for Rookie of the Year.
Bueckers wants to be known as a good teammate in Dallas
In the same interview with Clutchpoints, Bueckers also spoke on what she wants to accomplish while being in Dallas. While bringing championships back to the place that drafted her is on her mind, she's more worried about how her teammates see her.
"Being a great teammate, being a great leader. Trying to bring as much happiness, positive energy, joy to a new place and set the new foundation of what we wanna look like in the future. That starts now, it starts in the present," Bueckers said.
While Bueckers continues to adjust to the WNBA, her focus is on the little things as she takes each game one by one. The Dallas Wings begin their season on May 16 against the Minnesota Lynx.
