Diana Taurasi gave a blunt, four-word response when being asked about her first-time ever matchup against Caitlin Clark on Sunday.
Taurasi had been vocal about Clark not being ready to dominate in the WNBA the same way she did at Iowa from the second the now-Indiana Fever star entered the league.
Yet, the Phoenix Mercury legend was more coy when asked about lining up against her for the first time.
‘Yeah, it’ll be fun,’ Taurasi said, before turning her head in another direction, looking to answer another question as part of a press scrum.
Taurasi is 20 years older than Clark and Sunday’s matinee in Phoenix represents a generational battle between a WNBA pioneer and a likely candidate to be one of the leading stars for the league over the next two decades.
Caitlin Clark was criticized by Diana Taurasi months ago before she played in the WNBA
Taurasi was more coy about Clark this week when asked about their matchup on Sunday
Back in April, before Clark was drafted No 1 overall by the Fever, Taurasi had much more to say about the rookie star.
‘Reality is coming, there’s levels to this thing,’ she told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, when asked about Clark and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso jumping to the pros.
‘And that’s just life, we all went through it… You look superhuman playing against some 18 years olds but you’re going to come [play] with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time,’ Taurasi added.
‘Not saying it’s not gonna translate, because when you’re great at what you do, you’re just gonna get better,’ Taurasi continued. ‘But there is gonna be a transition period, where you’re gonna have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.’
Taurasi later doubled down on her remarks, calling Clark’s fans ‘sensitive’.
‘The new fans are really sensitive these days,’ Taurasi told azcentral’s Jeff Metcalfe, adding: ‘You can’t say anything.’
‘It’s kind of like when you go [from] kindergarten to first grade, there’s a learning adjustment. When you go from high school to college, there’s a learning adjustment,’ Taurasi stated.
‘I don’t think I said anything that’s factually incorrect. Like anything, greatness is going to translate. And she’s prove that at every level. I don’t see why that’s going to be any different in the WNBA,’ Taurasi continued.
With Clark being a constant target for physical play in her WNBA career thus far, we’ll see if Sunday’s battle of old school against new school gives Clark or Taurasi the advantage.
