Last year, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark went from No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft to a top-five finish in MVP voting and a spot on the All-WNBA first team. Fresh off leading UConn to its first national championship since 2016, can Paige Bueckers make a similar impact as the presumptive No. 1 pick in Monday’s draft?
Clark did experience some of what fellow No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi termed “reality,” particularly during a brutal start to the schedule. With the Fever schedule front-loaded against some of the WNBA’s top teams, including three matchups each with the Connecticut Sun and New York Liberty in the first 13 games, Clark shot 37% from the field and had nearly as many turnovers as assists while Indiana started 3-10.
By the time Clark returned from the WNBA’s Olympic break, however, she was one of the league’s most valuable players down the stretch. Over that span, Clark averaged 23.1 PPG and 8.9 APG as the Fever reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Let’s break down Bueckers’ performance at UConn alongside those of Clark at Iowa and other college stars to get a better idea of what the
