Caitlin Clark grew up idolizing Diana Taurasi. Playing her is ‘almost a dream come true.’

PHOENIX — Caitlin Clark was just two years old when Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi debuted in the WNBA in 2004.

While Clark, a future point guard herself, was growing up, she watched Taurasi lead the Mercury from her house in Des Moines, Iowa. Taurasi was someone Clark saw as one of her idols.

Twenty years later, Taurasi has grown into the most prolific scorer the league has seen. She is the only player that has eclipsed 10,000 points in the WNBA, and she just played her 80th game with at least five 3-pointers on Friday night (the next-closest player in that category, Katie Smith, has 30).

“It’s incredible, I don’t think many people realize how hard that is to do,” Clark said of Taurasi playing at a high level for 20 years. “Obviously, she’s done everything that she’s needed to do to continue playing at a high level. Taking care of her body, continuing to perform at the highest level. I think about it in my rookie year, it’s incredible to think she’s been in this league for 20 years, it’s just super cool, a feat that not a lot of people will ever accomplish in their career.”

More: How will Caitlin Clark adjust to the WNBA? ‘Reality is coming,’ says one star.

Clark, a fellow No. 1 pick, will play against one of her basketball idols on Sunday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The game is slated for 3 p.m. ET, and the first meeting between Taurasi and Clark will air on ESPN.

“That’s somebody I grew up idolizing and looking up to and wanting to be like one day,” Clark said. “Obviously, she’s one of the greatest players our game has ever seen, greatest scorer our game has ever seen, so for me, I’m excited. It’s fun. It’s almost like a dream come true. You get to live out your dream while playing against the best, or one of the best there ever has been.”

There are a lot of similarities between Clark and Taurasi, who both run the point. They’re both gifted scorers (Taurasi leads the WNBA in career scoring, Clark led the NCAA) and specialize in the 3-point shot. Taurasi is considered one of the greatest of all time in both the collegiate and WNBA ranks, and Clark is on her way to that designation, too.

Both of them are also extremely competitive, not afraid to show their emotions on the court and speak their minds to the officials. Clark picked up three technical fouls in the first nine games in her career (she hasn’t picked up any since), and Taurasi has gotten one-game suspensions three different times in her WNBA career for getting too many technical fouls.

As an assistant with Spartak Moscow in Russia from 2007-13, Fever coach Christie Sides helped coach Taurasi for three seasons. The one thing Sides said shined through was Taurasi’s competitiveness — it has stayed the same from 14 years ago to today.

“Competitive, that’s what you remember about Diana Taurasi,” Sides said. “It doesn’t matter what age, what level she was at. If it’s college, or pro, overseas — I had the opportunity to coach her overseas — she’s just one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met.”

Taurasi is one of three Olympians on Phoenix’s roster this season, joining center Brittney Griner and guard Kahleah Copper. Only Las Vegas has more Olympians on its roster.

Phoenix is currently 9-8, and Copper leads the team with 22.7 points per game. Griner and Taurasi also average double figures with 19.8 and 16.5 points per game, respectively, while Natasha Cloud averages 10.9.

“Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, all those shooters they have everywhere, Kahleah Copper, there’s just so much talent on that floor to try and figure out how we’re just going to contain them,” Sides said.

This is Indiana’s only trip to Phoenix this season, but Clark could be in store for another next month. WNBA All-Star weekend will be in Phoenix July 18-20, and the Fever rookie was in second in the early returns of fan All-Star voting.

But Clark isn’t focused on potentially becoming an All-Star in her rookie season. In her eyes, if it happens, it happens — she’s focused on winning as many games as possible with the 7-12 Fever.

“I don’t know if I’ll be there, I’m not going to talk in hypotheticals,” Clark said. “My focus is on playing basketball, and all that takes care of itself, but my focus is on this team. I will say it is super cool to travel around to all of these new cities and play in these new venues for the first time, that’s something that will be very memorable for myself.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark grew up idolizing Diana Taurasi. The two play on Sunday.