Paige Bueckers bests Caitlin Clark as Dallas Wings show they're for real

INDIANAPOLIS — The Dallas Wings are the real deal.

Paige Bueckers got the better of Caitlin Clark in their much-hyped matchup, and the Wings served notice to the rest of the WNBA that their dominance in the preseason was no fluke. After being at or near the bottom of the league the last two seasons, these Wings are going to be a title contender.

“We’re all humble enough to know how hard it is to get wins in this league. I mean, I'm not one to live in the past, but I'm not even sure how long it was until we got our first win last year. And now we have three, counting the preseason,” Bueckers said after the 107-104 win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday, May 9.

“It’s not to say we’re going to get complacent or, `Oh, we got one win. We're going to go 44-0,’” she added. “We're so focused on winning the day, winning a practice and getting better every single day.”

For those wondering, Dallas didn’t get its first win of the regular season until the fifth game last year. And finished the year with a total of 10.

Bueckers vs. Clark lives up to billing

The W had a lot invested in this game, in this matchup of Bueckers and Clark, and with good reason. Clark and Bueckers were back-to-back No. 1 picks, Clark in 2024 and Bueckers a year later. They move the needle in a way no other player except A’ja Wilson does.

This was the first time they faced each other – Clark missed most of last season with a quad strain and then groin injuries – and there was no question that Bueckers won this matchup.

Reinforcing the faith WNBA GMs had in her when they tagged her as the player they'd start a team with, Buckers had 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, along with four assists, three rebounds and one turnover.

Her game might not seem as flashy as Clark’s – pretty sure the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd could be heard in Kokomo when Clark hit her first 3 – but she is deadly efficient.

“Eight for 10 with one turnover when they’re trapping her, trying to get the ball out of her hands,” Arike Ogunbowale said. “She’s just really elite.”

Clark looked like a player playing her first regular-season game in almost a year. She finished with 20 points, but was 7 of 18 from the floor. She had seven assists and five rebounds, but five turnovers, too.

Clark also left the game twice in the second half for what she said was adjustments to her back. She insisted she's fine, and she did play the rest of the game.

"We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK," Fever coach Stephanie White said.

Dallas has depth

Impressive as individual performances are, you want to see the best players win. And, unlike last season, Bueckers and the Wings are in position to do that this year. Dallas is not a one-person team. Or even a two-person team.

Ogunbowale had 22 points despite sitting for more than two minutes in the fourth quarter after picking up her fifth foul while Odyssey Sims added 20, and Aziaha James had 10 off the bench. Then there was free agency pickup Jessica Shepard, who had 13 points and was one rebound and one assist shy of a triple-double.

“It's what made her so attractive in free agency,” Bueckers said. “She can score, she can rebound, she can pass, she can defend. Just really an all-purpose … player.”

Dallas gave up 104 points, but it was successful in keeping Indiana contained from 3-point range. The Fever was 7 of 24 from deep, with Clark and Kelsey Mitchell both going 2-of-9.

That included Mitchell’s 3 at the final buzzer that bounced off the rim.

“They shot the ball incredibly well. Really the only quarter we put together was the third,” Clark said. “We just got to be able to do that a little more consistently, but it was a great test. It was a great game.”

Games like this make WNBA so good

So much has been made about the explosion in the WNBA’s popularity over the last seven years, the last three in particular, and this game was the perfect showcase for why. Two of the league’s marquee players, going head-to-head on national TV in front of a raucous and passionate crowd.

You want the best players to be in places where they’ll shine, not be stunted, and Bueckers and Clark both are. This rivalry is just getting started. That we have years and years of games like this to look forward to should excite everyone.

“We just want to play free and play with each other,” Bueckers said of her Dallas teammates. “We just want to win.”

Get ready, because Dallas is going to be doing a lot of it this season.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.