Caitlin Clark accomplished almost everything she set out to do in her final season with Iowa.
Make the Final Four again? Check. Make it back to the national championship game? Check. Break the NCAA scoring record? Check again. Score the most points in NCAA tournament history? You can check that one off, too.
The only thing Clark didn’t manage to do was win a championship — Dawn Staley and South Carolina made sure of that.
READ MORE: South Carolina is the favorite to win another championship in 2025
It’s all good, though! Even without a championship, her season was still incredible. She managed to captivate basketball fans everywhere. Just about everyone seemed impressed by what Clark managed to pull of this season.
Everyone except for Diana Taurasi, that is.
The Phoenix Mercury legend just hasn’t really seemed that impressed by Clark over the last few weeks. She took a few shots at the soon-to-be WNBA rookie during her NCAA tournament run. And now, the Mercury are marketing the team’s upcoming game against the Fever (where Clark will presumably be drafted) as Diana Taurasi vs. the Rookie. It’s wild.
How on Earth did we get here? Let’s backtrack a bit and figure this out.
Wait, so when did this all start?
Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were doing a simulcast during the Final Four where they’d watch the games the same way Eli and Peyton Manning do during the NFL season. Of course, they’d give thoughtful analysis during the broadcast. But there was also some playful banter, too.
Taurasi was asked if Clark could hoist up the same 30-footers she shoots for Iowa if she played for UConn (where Taurasi went to school). Her answer was unequivocally no.
“Hell no. [Geno Auriemma] didn’t even let us dribble. We were playing triangle, pass, screen-away, pinch-post. No chance you’re doing that with Coach Auriemma,” she said. “That’s just not the way he teaches basketball.”
Honestly, this was pretty funny. It wasn’t even a shot at Clark — it was just Taurasi’s honest assessment. Plenty of people didn’t take it that way, though.
That's not bad. Was there anything else?
Where things actually do get a bit spicy is when another question pops up during the broadcast about which player Bird and Taurasi would rather have for their team: Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers.
This was during UConn and Iowa’s Final Four showdown where the two were going head-to-head. Both Bird and Taurasi are former UConn players themselves so, obviously, there’s a bit of a bias there. But Taurasi was just so vehement in her decision to take Bueckers over Clark. There wasn’t even any discussion.
“I’m taking Paige,” Taurasi said. “Next question.” Bird asked her if she’d take Bueckers over Clark as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft if Bueckers chose to leave school. Her answer was “Absolutely.”
Taurasi’s staunch response bere, given everything Clark has accomplished, was definitely a bit spicy.
Sheesh. Is there more?
Here’s the big one that everyone is hung up on. After the UConn-Iowa game, Taurasi was asked what the WNBA had in store for the rookies who were coming to the league soon, including Clark and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso.
Her response? Reality is coming.
“There’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come with some grown women who’ve been playing professional basketball for a long time,” Taurasi said.
The quote wasn’t all bad! She continued, “Not saying that it’s not going to translate. Because when you’re great at what you do you’re just going to get better. But there is going to be a transition period where you’re going to have to give yourself some grace as a rookie. It might take a little bit longer for some people.”
She didn’t specifically mention Clark here, but everyone seems to think that Clark is the target. It’s led to pieces about why everyone hates Caitlin Clark so much, which is quite the stretch. But that’s been the sentiment so far from these quotes.
Does Diana Taurasi hate Caitlin Clark?
It’s impossible to know someone else’s true feelings, but the answer is more than likely no. She doesn’t. Clark isn’t the only rookie Taurasi has picked on. She’s done the same with Angel Reese and Cameron Brink, too.
This is just kind of who Taurasi has always been. For example, take this story from Kelsey Plum about one of her interactions with Taurasi last season. She’s just kind of a bully on the court. Plum had a specific description for her that is definitely in NSFW territory.
WARNING: There is some NSFW language in this video.
The way Taurasi has talked about Clark doesn’t mean she hates her. She’s just being competitive.
Ah, yeah. That makes sense.
It makes a ton of sense when you think about it. I mean, when LeBron James was coming into the NBA, did you see Kobe Bryant welcoming him with such open arms? The answer is no.
The women in the WNBA can appreciate Caitlin Clark’s game as much as they want. Some surely do more than Taurasi does above. That doesn’t mean they’re going to lose that competitive edge they have when it comes to her. We shouldn’t expect anyone in the league to just kowtow to Clark here.
After all, as Taurasi said, these women have been playing basketball at the highest level for years. Some have performed just as well as Clark has at the highest level without receiving a fraction of the overall attention that has come with it. Everyone is going to have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to her.
We should expect Taurasi — and everyone else — to bring it
