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Paige Bueckers is almost certainly going to be a star in the WNBA one day. Unfortunately for Bueckers, four-time All-Star Napheesa Collier is already a star in the WNBA, and she taught Bueckers a valuable lesson in her professional debut.
Not only did Collier, who preceded Bueckers at UConn and was the runner-up for the WNBA MVP a year ago, drop 34 points in a 99-84 victory for the Minnesota Lynx over the Dallas Wings, but she also showed Bueckers that the W is a grown woman’s league.
Collier is listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. Bueckers, meanwhile, is listed at 6 feet tall and around 150 pounds. So when the two tangled in the post, things got a little bit tough for Bueckers. Photos posted by the Lynx on social media show Collier repeatedly bullying Bueckers in the post.
“Poor Paige was fighting for her life omg,” one fan wrote.
“Welcome to the league moment in game 1 is rough,” said another.
Napheesa Collier Bullying Paige Bueckers Is Part Of The WNBA Learning Process
Ultimately, Collier does this to just about everyone in the NBA. There’s a reason many fans believe that she’s in line to win her first WNBA MVP this season. But the moment is just a reminder that, as Diana Taurasi said, the WNBA is a huge step up in physicality from the college game.
“Reality is coming, there’s levels to this thing,” Taurasi famous said prior to Caitlin Clark entering the league a year ago. “…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. Not saying that it’s not going to translate. When you’re great at what 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 may take a little bit longer for some people.”
As Taurasi predicted, Clark did struggle early. But by the end of her rookie season, she established herself as a star in the league. Bueckers has all the talent to do the same. But it may take a little longer than some fans expect.