"She can’t hide the pettiness"; "Idk what people expect her to say": Fans divided over Diana Taurasi's blunt response on Caitlin Clark matchup

WNBA star prodigy Caitlin Clark will be up against veteran legend Diana Taurasi, who is also the oldest player in the league, on Sunday. Clark and Taurasi will square off for the first time in the WNBA during Indiana Fever's road game against Phoenix Mercury.

The excitement among hoops fans is palpable for the maiden face-off between Clark and Taurasi. The prospect of watching a young and budding superstar going toe-to-toe against a player with two decades of experience does spark intrigue.

On Wednesday, Phoenix veteran Diana Taurasi was asked about her matchup against Caitlin Clark ahead of Sunday's game. The 42-year-old came up with a blunt reply.

"Yeah, it will be fun," replied Taurasi to reporter's question.

Taurasi's reaction instantly went viral on social media as the netizens were divided over the veteran's short and crisp response.

A section of fans slammed the Taurasi for her "dismissive" reply to Caitlin Clark's question.

"She can’t hide the pettiness. Contrast this to the love that A’ja just showed to Angel the other day.

One of the fans called out Taurasi for being jealous of Clark.

"She’s so jealous of her," a fan commented.

A fan blamed Taurasi for WNBA's lack of popularity before the Fever's rookie's arrival into the league.

"Every time I see Taurasi get interviewed, I say to myself “NOW I remember why nobody watched womens basketball for the last 25yrs"," wrote another fan.

Other fans found nothing wrong with Taurasi's response to Caitlin Clark's query.

"Idk what people expect her to say," comment an X user in Taurasi's defense.

A couple of X users lashed out at Caitlin Clark's fanbase for spreading negativity about other players.

"This is why people hate CC fans. She didn’t say anything negative- yall still crying," wrote another fan.

"Somehow clark fans will turn this response into a problem for no reason," commented another fan.

Diana Taurasi had caught flak earlier for remarks on Caitlin Clark

Earlier this year, Diana Taurasi received a lot of criticism from Caitlin Clark's fanbase when she spoke about the latter's transition from college to the pros. Taurasi had said that Clark will have a "reality check" once she arrives in the WNBA.

"Reality is coming," Taurasi had told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt while talking about Clark’s success in college.

"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 some 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time," she added.

Later, Taurasi addressed her statement after it did not go down well with a large section of hoops fans. The Phoenix Mercury star affirmed that her statement on Clark was "blown out of proportion."