“Reality is coming,” WNBA star Diana Taurasi had warned rookie Caitlin Clark months ago. “You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time,” she opined. So when Clark played her debut WNBA game against the Connecticut Sun, all eyes were on her. Unfortunately, Indiana Fever lost to the Sun, 71-92. The rookie picked two early fouls and was even held scoreless for most of the first half.

However, if the former Los Angeles Sparks star Chiney Ogwumike is to be believed, Taurasi trying to scare rookie players is quite the norm. Ogwumike was present during ESPN’s Get Up with Mike Greenberg on Wednesday when she spoke about DT’s tendency to trouble rookies, revealing an incident that happened in 2014. Hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.

“Diana Taurasi- her bark is worse than her bite. Everyone that has known her, whether it’s from UConn now to the Phoenix Mercury, know that a lot of people hear her sound bites and they’re like ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe she’s saying that’.”

Ogwumike might not have played alongside the Phoenix Mercury star, but she sure knows better as an opponent of five years. Hence, she shared her own story!

“I’ll give you a little example on a story. My first game in the WNBA, one of the first ones I played against the Phoenix Mercury. Nneka used to help me, she used to give me the scouting report on every team and every player because she wanted me to be great as someone in this league and she said when you set a screen, Diana’s physical, she’s going to punch you,” Ogwumike stated.

Ogwumike was drafted as the first overall pick by the Connecticut Sun in 2014. In just her first season, the Texas-born averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game with 8.5 rebounds per game, which proved her mettle. Nonetheless, as she was on her way to winning WNBA Rookie of the Year, she had to face opposition from DT in a game.

Ogwumike entered the game with a mindset to not back down because she already knew Taurasi was going to be physical. When she set the screen, DT punched her, but that was in response to Ogwumike previously hitting her. The game stopped then, for a free throw. Taurasi, who was supposed to be in the backcourt as a point guard, was nowhere to be seen in her position. Why?

“She turns, looks at me and comes for me, stands next to me, if we can go on the wide shot on the free throw line and I was nervous, I was sweating. She turns, and she passes me, and [says] like ‘Welcome to the league. I see you’re not backing down’. And then after the game, she said, ‘Hey that’s how you compete,'” Ogwumike concluded her story on ESPN’s Get Up with Mike Greenberg.

The foul occurred in the fourth quarter when both the teams were tied at 83. Due to Taurasi’s foul, Ogwumike was given the free throws which helped her take her team to a 2-point lead. While Taurasi might have troubled Ogwumike, the Sun ultimately triumphed by a 96-95 margin. Ogwumike scored 13 points with 10 rebounds along and 2 assists in the game and showed that much like DT, she was tough. Meanwhile, the Mercury veteran had to face a backlash from fans, especially Clark’s boyfriend’s brother Patrick McCaffery for taunting the former NCAA Queen.

Patrick McCaffery took a jibe at Diana Taurasi!

When Clark became the leading scorer in the NCAA, there was a lot of speculation about whether she would be able to repeat her exceptional gameplay at the highest level. Taking note of her performances, many legends of the game, including Sheryl Swoopes and DT, had opined that Clark would take time to adjust to the league, which she did.

Clark seemed to face problems due to the physical nature of the league, but that did not last long. All this resulted in the rookie being the leading assist-maker in a singular season. Plus, she also surpassed the scoring and three-point records set by a rookie. Hence, when the generational talent performed exceptionally well, her boyfriend’s brother Patrick McCaffery took a dig at Taurasi.

“Is the reality a little late? Maybe it’s still on its way,” Patrick posted on Instagram along with Clark’s picture on his story. Clark, though earlier had been a victim of the physical gameplay, soon found strength in her skills and after the Olympics break, took the Fever to the 9-6 record.

Further, let us not forget Phoenix Mercury’s game against the Indiana Fever in July. Five technical fouls and two Flagrant 1s, but none were called on Diana Taurasi or Caitlin Clark. In fact, the veteran seemed to squash the perceived beef with the rookie as she walked to Clark before the game and hugged it out.

“What Caitlin has been able to do in her short career so far is nothing short of remarkable,” Taurasi said after her team’s loss. “One thing I love about her (Clark) is that she loves the game. You can tell she’s put the work in.”