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Paige Bueckers gets love from Caitlin Clark bullies in alarming WNBA juxtaposition

The same Sun players that went after the Fever phenom Caitlin Clark oddly had Wings rookie sensation Paige Bueckers back on a technical foul call.
Matthew Graham|
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Dallas WingsIndiana Fever

Are WNBA players showing favorites as to who they want to be the face of the league?

Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark is the biggest star in basketball. Period. Her regular season games are getting as much attention as the NBA Finals. Just ask the Golden State Valkyries and smack-talking Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski.

RELATED: Warriors' Brandin Podziemski blasted for taunting Caitlin Clark during Valkyries game

Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Former UConn Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers is now a rookie sensation with the Dallas Wings, and while the prolific brand-empire builder, including having a similar deal with Nike as Clark, certainly is already one of the WNBA's most popular players, she's not on the Clark pop-culture level - at least not yet.

Two familiar faces seem to have a favorite - the Connecticut Sun's Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey.

Last Tuesday against the Fever, Sheldon had been jawing with Clark before things reached a boiling point when Sheldon got in Clark's face after a hard foul before Mabry comes in and gives the Iowa icon a blatant cheap shot.

RELATED: 6-foot-4 Cameron Brink towers over WNBA star Paige Bueckers meeting after game

Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham, now known as the Caitlin Clark enforcer after also going viral, got her revenge on Sheldon in the final seconds of the game, and both were ejected after a brawl nearly broke out.

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Juxtapose that to last night against Bueckers and the Wings, and when the reigning national champion got her first technical foul, albeit it extremely weird, guess who had the rookie's back? Yep, Sheldon and Mabrey.

It could merely be a coincidence, but it's an alarming trend that Clark continually seems to get played way more physically than anyone else in the WNBA.

Clark detractors will say she brings it on herself, and to a point, there is merit there too. Like the other night, the self-admitted super competitive Clark looks like she says to Sheldon, "I can do whatever the f**k I want."

Let's hope it's an isolated incident and not a trend. For WNBA players to get paid what they fully deserve, they need a transcendent pop-culture figure like Caitlin Clark.

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Matthew Graham
MATTHEW GRAHAM

Matthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win (named Best Mobile Site by Digiday). He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.

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