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As anticipation builds for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, the possibility of Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark sharing the same backcourt on the world stage has become one of the sport’s most compelling storylines. For years, the two have been framed as rivals. According to Bueckers, that narrative has never reflected reality.
Speaking recently on Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast, the Dallas Wings guard addressed the long-running comparison between herself and Clark, explaining that their relationship was built well before either became national stars. Their familiarity dates back to their teenage years, when both were part of USA Basketball’s junior national team pipeline.
“A lot of us, me and Caitlin even played together on the Junior Olympic level when we were younger,” Bueckers said. “We were in high school and it was always a fun time, and we all played really well together. I still feel we had one of the best U-16 or U-17 teams to ever exist, and to see it all come into fruition of us all living out our dreams and what we talked about and what we worked for … it’s crazy.”
Those early experiences, Bueckers explained, laid the groundwork for a relationship rooted in shared goals rather than competition, even as both players rose into the national spotlight and became defining figures of the sport.
Paige Bueckers Talks Caitlin Clark Rivalry Narrative
As their profiles grew, so did the tendency to frame Bueckers and Clark as opposing forces. Bueckers acknowledged that the storyline has persisted for years, but said it has never aligned with how the two view each other.
“So yeah, it’s crazy ’cause everybody’s pitting me and Caitlin against each other for the longest time,” Bueckers said. “We’re cool. We’re friends. But again, it’s respect to the competition, so we understand how media works and how they want to pit two people against each other and they’re supposed to hate each other and blah, blah, blah. So we all understand that and it’s all in the love of the game.”
Rather than resentment, Bueckers described a dynamic built on mutual respect and awareness of how narratives are shaped as visibility increases. She added that international competition could offer a rare moment where two passionate fan bases are forced to unite.
“At the same time, to have two fanbases that really hate each other have to come together for a couple months, it would be really fun,” she said. “Everybody would just have to get along for a little bit.”
World Cup Stage as Paths Converge Again
The 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup is scheduled for September in Berlin, and both guards are expected to be part of the broader USA Basketball pool as the program looks to defend its title. Bueckers and Clark most recently shared the floor at a senior national team camp in December alongside several of the country’s top players, offering a glimpse of what a future pairing could look like at the highest level.
On the professional side, both have already reshaped the WNBA landscape. Bueckers, selected first overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 draft, delivered immediately as a rookie. She averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game, earned Rookie of the Year honors, made the All-Star Game and was named to the All-WNBA Second Team. Her season included one of the league’s standout performances, a 44-point outing on 17-of-21 shooting against Los Angeles.
Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft by the Indiana Fever, has been equally influential. Across 53 professional games over two seasons, she has averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists, earning Rookie of the Year and All-WNBA First Team honors as a rookie. Injuries limited her to 13 games in 2025, but she has since returned to full health, according to comments made during USA Basketball activities.
Before any potential international pairing materializes, Bueckers and Clark will meet again in a familiar setting. The Wings are set to open their 2026 WNBA preseason schedule April 30 against Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the first of four meetings between the teams this season.
The series will conclude Aug. 20 in Texas at American Airlines Center, where the two teams previously drew a sold-out crowd of 20,409 last June in a game that set a franchise attendance record and became one of the most-watched regular-season contests in league history.
Whether on the WNBA stage or wearing USA across their chests in Berlin, Bueckers made clear that the shared journey matters more than the labels attached to it.
“It’s all in the love of the game,” she said.
