While the first potential matchup between last year's Rookie of the Year and this year's frontrunner might've been marred by injury, it doesn't mean that WNBA fans will have to miss out on Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers missing out on one another completely.
On August 1, the two stars' teams clash again in Texas, and the Dallas Wings have decided to once again move their contest against the Indiana Fever to the larger American Airlines arena instead of their usual arena at College Park. Clark missed the Fever's first game against the Wings at the bigger venue with a groin injury, but Indiana still managed to pull out the victory.
Bueckers and Clark haven't faced each other since their college days, with the UConn Huskies' last interaction with Clark ending in heartbreak as the Iowa Hawkeyes eliminted them from the NCAA Tournament in Clark's final year. They eventually lost the championship game to the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks that year, though.
UConn, led by Bueckers, managed to do something Clark never could with Iowa in 2024 by winning a national title. It capped off an incredible college career from Bueckers, and now, fans are clamoring to see her finally go up against Clark for the first time in the WNBA.
Highly touted rookies get new venue for clash (again)
Clark is entering that August 1 matchup with a year of extra experience under her belt compared to Bueckers, and she'll be fresh off captaining an All-Star team a few weekends prior to this game. Bueckers, though, was selected as a starter for this year's festivities - same as Clark last year.
READ MORE: Caitlin Clark's return date remains murky after latest update from Fever HC
The two guards have had similarly tough goings this year, with Clark dealing with injuries for the first time in her career and Bueckers navigating the waters of a losing team for the first time in her career. But, this contest will still have some major hype behind it considering their collegiate history against one another.
The two also played with one another in the past, joining the U19 women's basketball team with FIBA back in 2019. They were only 17 years old at the time, but had major hype surrounding them ahead of their picks for respective college programs. Bueckers also won that tournament's MVP award.
This should be a great matchup if both players remain healthy.