Diana Taurasi gave a blunt four-word answer when asked about her first-ever match against Caitlin Clark on Sunday.
Taurasi had been vocal about Clark not being ready to dominate in the WNBA the same way he did in Iowa from the moment the now Indiana Fever star entered the league.
Still, the Phoenix Mercury legend was more reserved when asked if he would be lining up against her for the first time.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Taurasi said, before turning her head the other way, looking for an answer to another question as part of a press rum.
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 become one of the league’s leading stars for the next two decades.
Caitlin Clark was criticized by Diana Taurasi months ago before playing in the WNBA
Taurasi was more coy about Clark this week when asked about their matchup on Sunday
In April, before Clark was named No. 1 overall by the Fever, Taurasi had a lot more to say about the rookie star.
“Reality is setting in, there are 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’ve all been through it… You look superhuman playing against 18 year olds, but you’re going to come [play] with a number of adult women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time,” Taurasi added.
“I’m not saying it won’t translate, because if you’re good at what you do, you’ll only get better,” Taurasi continued. “But there comes a transition period where you have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.”
Taurasi later doubled down on her comments, calling Clark’s fans “sensitive.”
“The new fans these days are very sensitive,” Taurasi told azcentral’s Jeff Metcalfe, adding, “You can’t say anything.”
‘It’s a bit like when you go [from] from kindergarten to first grade, there is a learning adjustment. When you go from high school to college, there is a learning adjustment,” Taurasi said.
‘I don’t think I said anything that was factually incorrect. Like anything, greatness will translate. And she proves that on every level. I don’t see why it would be any different in the WNBA,” Taurasi continued.
With Clark being a consistent target for physical play thus far in her WNBA career, we’ll see if Sunday’s battle between old school and new school gives Clark or Taurasi the advantage.