March Madness hero DJ Burns reacts to heartwarming moment between Caitlin Clark and Kahleah Cooper during Fever vs. Mercury game
Caitlin Clark has received plenty of attention during her rookie season with the Indiana Fever. The first pick of the WNBA Draft had an up-and-down performance as she faced the Phoenix Mercury for the first time in her young career on Sunday.
The NCAA's all-time leading scorer finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, 12 assists and six turnovers while shooting 4 of 14, including 2 of 10 from 3-point range in an 88-82 win over the Mercury.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes guard shared a moment with Kahleah Cooper, who initially thought her opponent was swinging near her head. Upon realizing that it was to protect the ball from hitting her in the head, the Mercury guard approached Clark.
"Kahleah Copper didn’t know what Caitlin Clark was doing but came to talk it through later 🙌 (SWIPE) (via @zach.milton)," SportsCenter tweeted.
Former NC State Wolfpack star DJ Burns, who will play for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2024 NBA Summer League, commented on the post:
"🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥."
Diana Taurasi praises Caitlin Clark following first matchup
Diana Taurasi and Caitlin Clark matched up against one another for the first time on Sunday. Following the game, Taurasi praised Clark (via ESPN):
"It's amazing what Caitlin's been able to do in her short career so far. The one thing that I really love about her, she loves the game. You can tell she's put the work in. ... It's been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her, and she keeps showing up and keeps getting better every single game. So her future is super bright, and being a veteran and being in this league for a long, long time, it is pretty cool to see that and go into the future."
Clark is 20 games into her WNBA career, averaging 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. While her play has been impressive, she will need to work on her efficiency as she has averaged 5.6 turnovers per game while shooting 39.4%, including 34.6% from three-point range.