Wings GM Conveys Key Difference in Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark's Rookie Seasons

There's one major difference between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers' rookie seasons that shouldn't get overlooked.

Apr 5, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) react in the second quarter in the semifinals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Superstar guards Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers have been, are, and will continue to be compared to each other as their respective careers progress.

This was made even more apparent after Bueckers was drafted by the Dallas Wings with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft, one year after Clark went No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever.

However, when speaking with Sabreena Merchant on No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show, Dallas Wings Executive Vice-President and General Manager Curt Miller explained one aspect of Clark and Bueckers' rookie campaigns that can't be compared.

When Miller was asked whether he has learned anything from the Fever's front office about how a superstar like Bueckers and Clark can materially affect a WNBA franchise, he said, "Yeah. I think first and foremost, Paige's journey and Paige's rookie season is her own. And Chris and his wonderful staff are gonna put her in positions to be successful.

First look of 2025 No.1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers in her new threads 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FjYJ2DGCOL

— WNBA (@WNBA) April 23, 2025

"The one thing when you talk about last season is that Paige won't have the benefit that Caitlin did, and this is nothing against Caitlin, but we had an Olympic break last year," Miller added. "So you got to see some players get to take a month-deep breath. And those rookies that were coming off a grueling season in the collegiate game got a break and got to reset and finish strong.

"This draft class, which includes Paige, is not gonna have that luxury. We don't have a big break where they can almost catch a second wind and then push to the finish line in the second half of the season," he continued.

"So we have to watch this rookie class around the league about load management. It's not just our rookies, we're all going to be tuned in to load management... especially these rookies that played long into their collegiate season."

It will be interesting to see how this "load management" affects Bueckers' rookie season output.