The past two WNBA drafts have seen former Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark go number one to the Indiana Fever and former UConn star Paige Bueckers go first overall to the Dallas Wings. While we've had over a year of Clark in the pros, fans are still getting accustomed to watching Bueckers in the league with the struggling (but improving) Wings.
Clark's impact on the league was massive in Year 1, as attendance was up massively. Six teams had moved their games against the Fever into larger arenas this year to accommodate the fans that might want to come to watch Clark play their hometown team.
The Wings had previously done this for a June 27 match-up between the Wings and Fever, but unfortunately, Clark didn't play due to injury. The good news? People still showed up, as that game drew over 20,000 fans, just the eighth game in WNBA history to hit that number, according to ESPN.
That's why it's no surprise that the Wings have moved their August 1 matchup against Clark's Fever to American Airlines Center (where the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA play). Hopefully this time, fans are treated to a battle of the last two number one picks.
Showdown between Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark moved to NBA arena
Clark has unfortunately missed a chunk of Indiana's games this season with varying injuries. Her Fever are 9-9 as of this writing and hoping to build on their playoff-bound season from a year ago.
As for Bueckers, she's missed five games in her rookie year and the Wings got off to a rough start. While their current record of 6-14 looks rough, it's worth noting that Dallas has won three of their last five games, including wins over the fourth-place Atlanta Dream and second-place Phoenix Mercury.
Clark and Bueckers played against each other twice during their college careers with each woman's team prevailing once over the other.
Bueckers and the UConn Huskies took down Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2021 NCAA Tournament while Clark's Hawkeyes got revenge three years later in the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Bueckers, however, has a National Championship ring on her résumé.
Hopefully, Clark and Bueckers are both healthy when the Fever come to Dallas for this August 1 showdown because WNBA fans deserve to see the two squaring off against each other.