Back in April, Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi said that reality was coming for Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark in her first WNBA season.
That sentiment backfired just a bit on Friday night as Clark’s Fever gave Taurasi’s Mercury a reality check of its own.
The Fever’s 98-89 home victory over the Mercury completed a 3-0 sweep of Phoenix for Indiana this season, which is just a bit ironic for how the preseason narrative built between Taurasi and Clark after the former’s remarks.
Even though there was speculation of one, there really wasn’t any beef here. The Mercury veteran has been extremely complimentary of Clark for how she’s played since joining the WNBA, and Clark has been glowing when discussing Taurasi’s career.
Even on the court, the two have shown each other a lot of respect and even shared a laugh with each other during a long review in their first WNBA matchup.
Also, Taurasi missed the second meeting in July between these two teams with an injury, but she played in the first in June and the third on Friday night. It’s more than fair to wonder how that second game might have gone if Taurasi had played.
We’re not sure if Clark and Taurasi will play against each other again in the WNBA since Taurasi could retire at the end of this season. Potential 2024 playoff seeding is not a likely option for another contest between the two teams, at least not in the first round.
If Taurasi returns for next season, they will play again if both players are healthy. If she retires, she’ll end her WNBA career without a win against Clark. Selfishly, we’d love to see these two compete against each other again next year, which would mean Taurasi returns for one more run.
At least for now, Clark has the upper hand in this really fun rivalry.
3-0 🧹 pic.twitter.com/IUsLPv2Zoj
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 17, 2024
