"Fueling my upcoming hate watch"- Caitlin Clark fans go off after announcers make bold Paige Bueckers claim at Iowa game

The Caitlin Clark-Paige Bueckers debates heated up after Fox TV broadcasters made a bold claim at the end of Saturday's game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Tennessee. Several fans picked up a comment from the analysts that compared Clark and Bueckers, suggesting that the UConn Huskies star player would have had the same impact as the former Iowa icon if injuries hadn't halted her progress.

Bueckers' college career has been marred by injuries. She missed 19 games as a sophomore, citing a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus tear and didn't play the entire 2022-23 season with an ACL tear. On the other hand, Clark had a clean record with injuries, playing every game for the Hawkeyes during her college tenure.

Both players have been deemed transcendental, but Clark's popularity and impact have been unmatched for any player, let alone Paige Bueckers. However, the hypothetical arguments around Bueckers have caught fire ahead of her potential entry into the WNBA.

Clark's fans are far from agreeing with that opinion, though. Many believe there's a sizeable separation between the two stars to mention them together over their influence on the game.

After Saturday's commentary from announcers during the Iowa-Tennessee game, several fans of the Indiana Fever star expressed their anger at the comparisons.

“paige might as well have been caitlin clark before caitlin clark” now they’re just fueling my upcoming hate watch," one fan said.

"The announcer just p*ssed me off on the Iowa broadcast! Stop saying that Paige Bueckers was or would’ve been the Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark sh*t!" another fan added.

"'paige bueckers if not for the injury might as well been caitlin clark before caitlin clark' OHHHH BROTHERRRRR," one fan wrote.

"Analysts saying Paige would have been Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark on prime time TV is actually really unnecessary and annoying AF. Like why is Caitlin’s name always brought up. Talk about Paige if you want to talk about Paige!" another fan added.

"Paige is nothing like Caitlin, and she doesn't have that fan base. Not sure why they say that. So disrespectful," one fan said.

"Paige has never been Caitlin. This narrative needs to die," another fan said.

---

Paige Bueckers acknowledges Caitlin Clark's 'burden' of carrying women's basketball

While the media world and their fans debate who the better and more impactful player is, Bueckers has turned her attention away from the noise around that and acknowledged Clark's importance. In an interview with Fox Sports, where the discussion was around Clark's greatness as a college athlete, which was released On Nov. 17, Bueckers said:

“Caitlin brought so much new attention to the rise of women’s college basketball and the WNBA and women’s sports in general,” Bueckers said. “I feel like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. And she just has this heavy burden to carry and she does it with grace and humility.”

The viewership numbers support the talk about the impact Clark has had on college basketball, women's sports and even the pros. Her rookie season saw the WNBA break numerous rating records, bringing more eyeballs to the league ahead of the new wave of stars who could enter the league soon, including Paige Bueckers.