Over the course of Caitlin Clark’s third season in the WNBA, she has been in the headlines more for matters outside the court, so much so that some have blatantly ignored the exceptional season she’s having alongside her backcourt partner Kelsey Mitchell. Thankfully, fellow No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd knows better and made sure to give Clark’s growth over the years the respect and recognition it deserves amid her MVP-caliber season.

“She has grown in her game and her confidence, but she was still that 3-point shooter. She was still super competitive. She was still, yeah, fun to play with,” Fudd said of Clark during an interview with Joe Trahan of WFAA that aired on Friday. “To do what she’s doing is difficult. So, to see her create the way that she is, to hit the shots that she’s hitting, to play with that poise, it’s impressive.”

While Clark had a generational debut season in which it seemed like the whole world was watching her next step, sophomore year hit her hard as she managed to play only 13 games before picking up multiple lower-body injuries that eventually ended her season. From then on, Clark had to start from rock bottom again, and her third year has shown us the fruits of all her efforts finally unfolding.

The Fever star guard is currently averaging 21.8 points on a career-high 44.4% shooting, along with 8.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. She’s third in the WNBA in scoring and first in assists, putting her on track to become the first player in league history to lead the league in assists while finishing in the top three in scoring. This puts her right up in the MVP territory, competing with four-time winner A’ja Wilson and Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles for the honor. So yes, Fudd’s thoughts on Clark make complete sense, because to do what she is doing is unprecedented, especially considering the outside noise she has had to endure throughout the season. However, Fudd also mentioned that Clark is “fun to play with,”

This is because Fudd briefly teamed up with Clark in one of the greatest youth women’s basketball teams of all time. The U-16 Team USA squad, which they were on together, won the gold medal at the FIBA U-16 Women’s Americas Championship in Argentina back in 2017. Apart from Clark and Fudd, that squad also contained Aliyah Boston and Paige Bueckers. Meaning, we had the last four No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA play together at one point in their careers, topping it off with a gold medal. An already historic fact that will become even more legendary considering the career trajectories of these four stars.

This season, though, Fudd got only one chance to play against Clark, the WNBA opener between the Indiana Fever and the Dallas Wings. This is because Fudd missed their last two contests with the same injury that now requires surgery and will keep her sidelined for the rest of this season. But Fudd’s determination is no different from Clark’s, who herself knows a thing or two about being sidelined for the rest of the season.

Regardless, Fudd will be back next season, and Clark will also be there, potentially as the reigning MVP. With the already established history the two have with each other since college, we can witness the start of another great rivalry in the WNBA soon.