Paige Bueckers Sends Clear Message on Caitlin Clark Comparisons After WNBA Debut

After guiding the UConn Huskies to a national championship, Paige Bueckers has made her way to the WNBA, where she was selected by the Dallas Wings with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft.

Throughout her senior season with Connecticut and the draft process, Bueckers had been consistently compared to 2024’s No. 1 overall pick, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

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Clark made a name for herself during her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes, breaking the NCAA’s all-time scoring record. But unlike Bueckers, Clark was never able to win a national championship.

Still, Clark found instant success in the WNBA, breaking the single-season assists record and making the All-WNBA first team. The Wings are hoping for similar success with their new guard.

On Friday, Bueckers made her WNBA preseason debut as the Wings were handed a 112-78 loss to A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces. Bueckers finished her first game with Dallas with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and one assist.

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After the loss, Bueckers was asked about the comparisons she receives to Clark and the 2024 WNBA draft class. She revealed that the high expectations do not bother her.

“No expectations,” Bueckers said. “I feel like that comes from an outside source, so just building with the team here. Trying to get better every single day, like I talk about every single time. Don’t worry about expectations… Expectations are a narrative that the media tries to create. Not letting outside sources in is really the expectation.”