For the last five years, I have cleared my schedule for every A'ja Wilson versus Breanna Stewart matchup — and there have been many. They are the two defining players of this WNBA generation, with a combined six MVPs and six **** les between them, and the faces of USA Basketball. They relish the competition of playing against the best at their position and raise their levels when they meet.
The Wilson-Stewart era is far from over. Wilson is on pace to be MVP yet again, while Stewart is putting together yet another All-WNBA season. Although the Las Vegas Aces sit higher in the standings, the New York Liberty have mostly gotten the best of them this season, including in the Commissioner's Cup final. A playoff series between them (a fifth matchup in seven seasons) would be high-level theater.
It would be near-impossible for another individual rivalry to reach those heights — again, look at all the hardware the two have in their trophy cases — but it was fun to get a look at the future during the aptly-named rivals week. Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark have a lot more winning to do to reach the Wilson-Stewart level, but they do have the right ingredients in place. They're elite players at essentially the same position who came up together through USA Basketball; like Stewart and Wilson, they each were the MVP at a U-19 World Cup. They both had outstanding college careers, and now they are trying to compete for **** les in the WNBA.
Bueckers and Clark have met only three times in the pros, and the first was mostly forgettable. The last two, however, have been worth the wait. The third quarter of Friday's game between Dallas and Indiana was a true highlight, as these two unselfish guards kept trying to one-up the other as bucket-getters. Six of their baskets were immediately followed by points from the other, including a very fun stretch in which Clark hit a layup, Bueckers followed with a pull-up 3, Clark responded with a pull-up jumper and Bueckers hit another shot in the midrange. Not a lot of passing from the nominal point guards, but the budding seeds of a longer rivalry.
Ideally, the Wings and Fever will meet in the playoffs (with Azzi Fudd and Jessica Shepard both healthy by that point) and give this matchup the stakes it deserves. For now, it's an enjoyable undercard to the Wilson-Stewart rivalry.
#stewart #WNBA #rivalry
The Wilson-Stewart era is far from over. Wilson is on pace to be MVP yet again, while Stewart is putting together yet another All-WNBA season. Although the Las Vegas Aces sit higher in the standings, the New York Liberty have mostly gotten the best of them this season, including in the Commissioner's Cup final. A playoff series between them (a fifth matchup in seven seasons) would be high-level theater.
It would be near-impossible for another individual rivalry to reach those heights — again, look at all the hardware the two have in their trophy cases — but it was fun to get a look at the future during the aptly-named rivals week. Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark have a lot more winning to do to reach the Wilson-Stewart level, but they do have the right ingredients in place. They're elite players at essentially the same position who came up together through USA Basketball; like Stewart and Wilson, they each were the MVP at a U-19 World Cup. They both had outstanding college careers, and now they are trying to compete for **** les in the WNBA.
Bueckers and Clark have met only three times in the pros, and the first was mostly forgettable. The last two, however, have been worth the wait. The third quarter of Friday's game between Dallas and Indiana was a true highlight, as these two unselfish guards kept trying to one-up the other as bucket-getters. Six of their baskets were immediately followed by points from the other, including a very fun stretch in which Clark hit a layup, Bueckers followed with a pull-up 3, Clark responded with a pull-up jumper and Bueckers hit another shot in the midrange. Not a lot of passing from the nominal point guards, but the budding seeds of a longer rivalry.
Ideally, the Wings and Fever will meet in the playoffs (with Azzi Fudd and Jessica Shepard both healthy by that point) and give this matchup the stakes it deserves. For now, it's an enjoyable undercard to the Wilson-Stewart rivalry.
#stewart #WNBA #rivalry
2 days ago
