Intensity is the one thing that was not expected from Caitlin Clark. Coming off an injury, head coach Stephanie White had given her the green light to focus primarily on offense, with defense seen as something to simply hold her own in. But Clark didn’t just meet that low bar; she has blown past it, turning a supposed weakness into a rising strength.
Against the Dallas Wings, despite being limited to just 25 minutes on the court, she had a game high and career high 5 steals. Clark also had 3 rebounds along with a block while limiting herself to just two turnovers. She had another double-double on the offensive end with 14 points and 13 assists, overshadowing her chief rival in this game, Paige Bueckers, who also had a brilliant performance of her own with 21 points and 4 assists. But it was Clark who was smiling at the end with a 102-83 win.
The rivalry was further fueled when Clark’s 3 steals out of 5 came from Paige Bueckers’ hands or interceptions of her passes. That was a cherry on top for the Indiana fans, and Bueckers said regarding her matchup against Clark, “She’s just a very smart basketball player.”
Clark had a trick up her sleeve as she explained after grabbing those steals on Bueckers, “Well, I knew my team was trapping on the sideline, so I kind of just made a read. I saw [Bueckers] was going to throw it to her post player and was able to get my hand on it. Then got a few deflections out of guard-to-guard switches.”
Both had a landmark game, but Clark took the W and the highlight, especially after getting those 3 steals of Paige Bueckers’ hand, who is especially known for letting very few turnovers through as she has only 2.2 turnovers per game, which stands outside the top 20 in the league. However, she had 4 against the Fever, and the fans were loving every minute of it.
Caitlin Clark’s steals against Paige Bueckers go viral among WNBA fans
Paige Bueckers opened the sequence with an over-the-top pass, aiming to outmaneuver the defense, but Caitlin Clark read it from the start. She anticipated the trajectory, stepped into the passing lane, and intercepted it cleanly before pushing the ball up the court for a transition opportunity. Her defensive presence continued to shine later in the game when Bueckers, trapped along the sideline, tried to thread a backdoor pass to escape the pressure.
Clark, demonstrating sharp anticipation and a deep understanding of spacing, read the play perfectly. She cut off the lane, stole the ball again, and finished with a smooth, uncontested layup. With the Bueckers vs. Clark rivalry making headlines, fans were quick to point out that Clark read Bueckers like a book throughout the game.
She wanted to see what it was like to be Fever player
— Revenge Game Bets (@RevengeGameBets) July 13, 2025
“She really took her chain multiple times today. Lmaoooooooo,” one fan joked. And honestly, that summed it up perfectly. The pregame narrative painted Paige Bueckers as the rising star with a stronger season, poised to outshine Caitlin Clark head-to-head. But Clark didn’t just shut that down; she obliterated it. With a commanding performance and a dominant win, she didn’t just outplay Bueckers; she quite literally snatched her chain on the court. The interceptions, the control, the swagger, it was a statement, both figurative and unmistakably real.
“CC picking Paige’s pocket! Such a fun game,” wrote another fan. Indeed, it was a fun game, and both Clark and Bueckers showed their wizardry, but the Fever was just a better team. Dallas, meanwhile, is in its nascent stages of development. Both the stars had outstanding performances. Clark became the fastest point guard in WNBA history to reach 100 assists in a single season. Further, her steals were symbolic to show that she is still the queen around here despite her injuries and grey patch.
“Gonna spam Paige fans with this one,” a fan posted, and just like that, the fan battles kicked into high gear. The last time these teams met, Clark sat out with an injury, and some Bueckers fans joked that she was “ducking” the matchup. This time, there were no excuses. Clark showed up, showed out, and gave her supporters all the ammo they needed. Now, the banter isn’t just back, it’s personal.
“Paige passes the ball to Caitlin better than Caitlin’s teammates do,” another fan wrote. This one is a kind of self-troll, too, because the fans have repeatedly criticized White for not running plays around Clark. Further, the passing ability of players has come into question.
The buzz on social media, the milestones reached, and the playful back-and-forth between fan bases only added fuel to a growing rivalry. But on this night, Caitlin Clark didn’t just lead her team to victory; she owned the moment. Her performance was a reminder that no matter the noise, she continues to set the standard, proving once again why she was the face of the league’s future.
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