In the battle of veteran vs. rookie, Diana Taurasi is yet to take a win against Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever has swept the Phoenix Mercury this season, with Taurasi playing two of the three games against Clark. But this win-loss record isn’t the only reason why fans imagine these two have beef. Taurasi’s comments from before Clark even came to the W ignited this idea, but a former teammate from Phoenix had a different kind of interaction with the Mercury star.

‘The Best Damn W Show’ podcast, Temeka Johnson discussed her “Welcome to the W moment.” Taurasi was bound to come up, as the host mentioned how the Mercury star has been a huge part of rookies’ welcome moments in the league. “On Twitter, they had a thread where WNBA players, past and present, would literally tell their ‘Welcome to the W moment’. And 95% of the stories were about Diana Taurasi welcoming people to the league.”

Johnson laughed when asked the same and revealed, “I don’t know if it necessarily happened to me, but it happened to my team.” For Johnson herself, there was another player who gave her ‘a warm welcome’. “I did have to guard this person but it wasn’t Diana…It was Deanna Nolan, Tweety!” She goes on to describe an astonishing play from the former Detroit Shock (now Dallas Wings) player, where she picked up an out-of-bound ball, jumped back in between the lines, and pinned down a bucket. All the while, Johnson was simply standing there, watching her veteran make a move that most would not want to believe could happen. In the end, she simply admitted, “Deanna Nolan was a beast. That was my welcome to the league.”

Debuting with the Washington Mystics in 2005, it wasn’t until 2009 that Johnson came to play for the Mercury. Meanwhile, Taurasi had been playing in Phoenix since 2004 but understandably wasn’t closely connected to Johnson just yet.

Nevertheless, Taurasi’s reaction to rookies then and now, with one rookie in particular, stands in stark contrast. “Reality is coming,” Taurasi warned the first-overall pick before transitioning from college to pro. But Taurasi has seen Caitlin Clark on the court up close and given the Des Moines native her due flowers. Then again, none of them have had the talent or reach, like Caitlin Clark.

The Fever newbie has tremendously grown from her first day to her last game of the regular season. And Clark has been instrumental in taking her team to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Just last week she set a record for the most assists in a single season, among numerous other broken records. While Temeka Johnson hasn’t directly commented on Clark’s play yet, another Fever icon has some shared thoughts.

From 2002’s ROTY to 2024’s ROTY favorite, Fever veteran showers praise on Caitlin Clark

One of the names that echoes in the halls of Gainbridge Fieldhouse is that of Tamika Catchings. The 2012 WNBA champion gave her all to the franchise. But it all began with her winning the 2002 Rookie of the Year award. After giving 14 years to the Fever, Catchings left Indianapolis in 2016. Her heroics have not yet been conquered by any, until this season with the ‘Iowa sensation’ coming into the league. Fast forward to 2024, the Hall of Famer is certain that the ROTY honor will go to Caitlin Clark.

Talking to Bob Kravitz on Sept 17, Catchings revealed, “Her court vision is the biggest thing, being able to deliver the ball, knowing who needs the ball and when; a lot of point guards miss that. But now you see Aliyah and Kelsey getting their touches, that’s just Caitlin seeing the floor, seeing the game and things before they happen, disbursing the ball at the right times to the right people.”

With the last game of 2024 almost here, Caitlin Clark and Co. will be hoping to finish the regular season on a high before the playoffs begin. But whichever way it goes, the most famous rookie in the W can find solace in the praise from one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen!