Caitlin Clark had Diana Taurasi catching strays after her sensational debut on Friday night.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star suited up for the Indiana Fever for a preseason fixture against the Dallas Wings on the night. And she kicked things off with a trademark three, followed by four more.
Clark registered 21 points, leading all scorers, scoring 16 in the first half.
You can check out her debut highlights below:
As for Taurasi, the veteran superstar had warned that “reality” would be coming for Caitlin following her exploits in college.
“Look, SVP, reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing,” she told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt prior to the WNBA Draft. “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 years olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.
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“Not saying that it’s not going to translate because when you’re great at you do you’re just going to get better, but there is going to be a transition period when you have to give some grace as a rookie. It make take a little bit longer for some people.”
Also Read: VIDEO: Diana Taurasi Goes Off On “New WNBA Fans” While Explaining Her Beef With Caitlin Clark
Fans Went In On Diana Taurasi After Caitlin Clark Showed Out
It didn’t seem like there was much of a learning curve for Caitlin Clark on Friday night, as she scored 11 of her team’s first 19 points to finish the game with 21.
“It’s only one game, and it’s the preseason, but if this is how Caitlin Clark is going to perform as a pro, so much for Diana Taurasi’s notion that ‘reality is coming.’ Actually, I think it’s more accurate to say Paris is coming,” one fan wrote.
“Remember when Diana Taurasi tried to convince us logo 3s don’t go in against 25 year olds the way they do against 20 year olds???” another commented.
You can check some more reactions out here:
Of course, it’s still early days. But there aren’t many people out there expecting Caitlin Clark to struggle as a pro. All of them are just waiting for the Fever to play the Phoenix Mercury next month after watching Caitlin ball out on Friday.