Even going back to their college days, Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark have always been compared to each other. Clark took college basketball by storm, while Bueckers was sidelined with a knee injury. Then Clark in her rookie season established herself as one of the best players in the league, while Bueckers broke through and led UConn to another national championship.
Now, both players are in the league, but both had very different seasons. Clark battled a nagging groin injury the whole year, and struggled with her efficiency, while Bueckers was far and away the best rookie in her class.
This has caused the two to roped into debate again about who the better player is. However, it is a bit unfair that this is even a conversation in the first place.
It is difficult to directly compare Clark and Bueckers
For starters, the two have two completely different playstyles. Clark is more of a pure point guard than Bueckers, and is a pass-first player that has incredible range from three. Bueckers is a bucket-getter, who lives in the mid-range, and has a variety of ways of scoring.
In addition to that, it is kind of tough to judge Clark off of this season. She played only 13 games, and was clearly hampered in most of them. However, she still averaged almost 17 points per game, and nine assists per game.
The Fever have been able to survive without her, and did advance past the first round of the playoffs, but that is a testament to the team reinventing their identity on the fly. For Bueckers, she thrived in a scoring role with the Wings. She exploded for 44 points against the Sparks in August, and shot 81% from the field in the process.
Bueckers also had 17 games with at least 20 points, and on the season, she was efficient, shooting 48 percent from the field overall. She did grow as a passer as the season went on and kept her turnovers low.
Clark and Bueckers are set to be the WNBA’s best players
Both players have not only shown that they belong in the league, but that they have the potential to be superstars. Clark is on pace to be arguably become the league’s greatest shooter of all-time. Bueckers’ versatility is only growing, and even with a lot of talent at the top of the W, she has the potential to be the best player in the league for most of her prime.
Both guards are always going to be compared to each other. There is no escaping it. But, they shouldn’t be in the first place, since they both bring something different to the table.
