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Sue Bird's fiancee once shared her feelings on Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers' relationship and rivalry: "Just fueling the drama"
Sue Bird's fiancee Megan Rapione once expressed her thoughts on the relationship between WNBA star Caitlin Clark and UConn Huskies sensation Paige Bueckers. Rapione is a former professional soccer player who isn't the biggest expert on basketball but she has one of the WNBA's best players in history by her side.
Rapione expressed her thoughts on the players to Insider in March 2021, when Clark and Bueckers were both freshmen.
"I really do want to see the 'Buckets' vs Clark clash," Rapinoe said. "I want to see that go down. I want them to guard each other. I want the whole thing to happen. I want the storylines."
Rapione later talked about the rivalry between the UConn star and former Iowa Hawkeyes player. Buekcers told ESPN she and Clark were friends off court and were fans of each other but Rapione was not convinced.
"Both of them keep saying how close they are, which, that's just fueling the drama in me. They're just saying this in the media so they don't have to be rivals."
Bueckers and Clark went against each other that year in Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies came out on top in the matchup 92-72.
After that game, Clark went on to have one of the most iconic college basketball careers in history. She led her team to two back-to-back championship game appreances and became NCAA Division I's all-time scoring leader.
Clark declared for the WNBA draft and the Indiana Fever took her with the No 1 pick in 2024. She won the Rookie of the Year after leading the league in assists.
Bueckers is still writing her legacy in college basketball. In her past three seasons at the Huskies, she has won the Big East Player of the Year twice and Big East Tournament MOP twice. Bueckers is expected to enter the 2025 WNBA draft and be the No. 1 pick.
Bird expresses thoughts on Clark's influence on the WNBA
On Wednesday's episode of her "A Touch More" podcast, Sue Bird expressed her thoughts on Caitlin Clark and her influence on the meteoric rise of the WNBA. The world's biggest women's basketball league was not in a great place the last few years but a lot changed this year with the arrival of Clark, Angel Reese and other stars.
The league saw a record increase in viewership and attendance, which raised a lot of eyebrows about the reason behind it. Clark is largely credited for the sudden rise in popularity but Bird offered a different perspective.
"The fire was going. It was burning. And it was burning brighter... but Caitlin came, and she poured gasoline all over that thing and just took it to another level," Bird said.
The WNBA icon presented a perspective where the Fever star served as a catalyst to speed up the process of the WNBA's rise. She expressed her support for Clark winning the TIME Athlete of the Year honor and also gave her take on the Fever star's controversial interview.
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