Earlier this year, Phoenix Mercury veteran Diana Taurasi rubbed a lot of Caitlin Clark fans the wrong way when she said “reality is coming” for Clark when she makes the jump to the WNBA level.
In Clark’s preseason debut, the former Iowa superstar didn’t seem to miss a beat — dropping 21 points through 28 minutes of action.
After Clark’s impressive debut performance, her fans took to social media with some jabs at Taurasi.
The Mercury responded with a simple message on Sunday.
“We love that our league is growing and that you’re here, but we have 27 years of exceptional women’s basketball history for you to catch up on,” the team wrote on X, linking to a video chronicling Taurasi’s greatness.
A tribute to the White Mamba, Diana Taurasi 🐍
Narrated by Vanessa Bryant pic.twitter.com/Z8svE0Jvm2
— ESPN (@espn) June 14, 2022
Here are Taurasi’s full comments regarding Clark’s upcoming transition to the WNBA level:
“Reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life, we all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time,” Taurasi said.
“Not saying that it’s not going to translate, because when you’re great at what you do, you’re just going to get better. But there is going to be a transition period, where you’re just going to have to give yourself grace as a rookie, and it might take a little bit longer for some people.”
Clark and the Fever are scheduled to face off against Taurasi and the Mercury on June 30.