The WNBA will open its landmark 30th season with a matchup that blends star power, history, and long-building anticipation. The Indiana Fever will host the Dallas Wings on Saturday, May 9, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, marking the first professional opening-night meeting between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. The league confirmed the matchup on Wednesday as part of its newly released 2026 schedule.
(Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
While it is only the first game of a 44-game season, the significance is unmistakable. Clark and Bueckers defined an era of women’s college basketball through their NCAA Tournament battles, games that became cultural reference points as much as competitive ones. The WNBA has now placed its first clean, intentional professional meeting at the center of its anniversary season.
Injuries limited their opportunities to face each other last year, but the opener arrives with both players healthy and expectations built over several years.
A moment in history.
Coming in at #7…. when Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers matched up for the first time of their professional careers pic.twitter.com/GfYuhzOn5l
— WNBA (@WNBA) December 29, 2025
Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers Star Production Sets the Stage
Clark enters the 2026 season looking to build on an abbreviated but productive 2025 campaign. In 13 games, she averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks, earning selection to her second All-Star Game despite injury limitations.
Bueckers delivered a full-season breakout in her rookie year with Dallas. Across 36 games, she averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks, earning her first All-Star selection and capturing the league’s Rookie of the Year award.
Their professional head-to-head history remains limited to a single game, but it offered an early glimpse into how the matchup can tilt in different ways. In that meeting, Bueckers scored 21 points with four rebounds and four assists, while Clark countered with 14 points, 13 assists, and five steals, underscoring the contrasting ways each star impacts the game.
Dallas Adds Another No. 1 Pick
The opener also reflects how deliberately the league constructed the moment. The game is expected to feature four consecutive No. 1 overall draft picks: Aliyah Boston (2023), Clark (2024), Bueckers (2025), and Dallas’s yet-to-be-named top selection in the 2026 draft.
It will mark the first time since the Wings’ inaugural season in 2016 that Indiana and Dallas meet on opening night, underscoring how intentionally the matchup was positioned to launch the season.
For Dallas, the spotlight arrives as Bueckers looks to guide a young roster forward in its first year under new head coach Jose Fernandez. Indiana, meanwhile, enters the year with renewed optimism as Clark returns healthy after being ruled out by the time the Fever reached Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals last season.
Caitlin Clark vs. Paige Bueckers: College Basketball History
Clark and Bueckers crossed paths twice during their college careers, with each winning once on the sport’s biggest stage. Those NCAA Tournament meetings helped define their rivalry long before it reached the professional level.
Their first matchup came in the 2021 Sweet 16, when UConn defeated Iowa 92–72. Bueckers powered the Huskies with an all-around performance, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, consistently driving the offense and controlling tempo. Clark led Iowa in scoring with 21 points, adding three rebounds and two assists in the loss.
The whistle heard round the world
Iowa vs UConn 2024 Final Four
The most stressful game imo – this was how I watched most of it pic.twitter.com/4OkweCGN5C
— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) October 25, 2024
They met again three years later in the 2024 Final Four in Cleveland, this time with the stakes even higher. Iowa edged UConn 71–69 to advance to the national championship game behind Clark’s expanded on-ball role. She recorded 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, playing all 40 minutes and carrying much of Iowa’s creation load. Bueckers scored 17 points with four rebounds and three assists, shooting 7-for-17 from the field and 3-for-8 from three while also logging the full game.
Taken together, those two matchups illustrated the dynamic that has followed them into the pros. Bueckers was often the more efficient scorer within the flow of UConn’s offense, while Clark operated with higher volume and responsibility, especially in the 2024 rematch, where Iowa leaned heavily on her playmaking. Each team claimed one win, each in a high-stakes NCAA Tournament setting — a split that helped fuel anticipation for what the rivalry could look like on the WNBA stage.
A WNBA Schedule Built Around Marquee Moments
Beyond May 9, Indiana’s home slate is anchored by high-profile dates. The Fever will host the Atlanta Dream on June 4 and June 18, welcoming two of their 2025 postseason opponents, before the defending champion Las Vegas Aces make their only trip to Indianapolis on Aug. 6.
Indiana and Dallas will meet three times during the regular season. After the opener, the teams will face off again at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Aug. 14, with a third matchup scheduled for Aug. 20 in Dallas — a game that could be moved to American Airlines Center.
League-wide, the 2026 calendar reflects both expansion and tradition. The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will debut during opening weekend, while the season will pause from Sept. 4–13 for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany before resuming Sept. 17. The regular season concludes Sept. 24, with the playoffs beginning Sept. 27.
“As we prepare to tip off the WNBA’s historic 30th season, this schedule reflects both how far the league has come and the momentum that continues to drive us forward,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a league statement.
Television and streaming details will be announced later, but the league has already made its intent clear: the 2026 season opens with Clark, Bueckers, and a stage worthy of both.
The post Caitlin Clark vs. Paige Bueckers: Fever to Host Wings in WNBA 30th Season Opener appeared first on Ballislife.com.
