A version of this Wings-Fever showdown — one with a healthy Caitlin Clark, one with No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd in the Dallas starting lineup, held inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse — already is in the books. It was a preseason game on April 30, and it was a bit of a wakeup call.

“Getting punched early,” Fever veteran Kelsey Mitchell said after a practice this week, “was good for us.”

A 95-80 win for the Wings only goes so far in a game that doesn’t count. But maybe it kind of will, in the long run? It’s not difficult to imagine these two clubs becoming foils in the present and future, given that the past four No. 1 picks in the WNBA college draft all will be on the floor Saturday. And familiarity can breed a bit of competitive contempt.

No one has to hate each other for this to become a rivalry. They just have to be in each other’s way at the important moments.

“Well, first the games have to be competitive,” Fever coach Stephanie White said this week, when I asked her what the ingredients for a good rivalry are.

“And I think there has to be a mentality of two teams that you make it hard every single (time). I think there are teams you hate to play, teams that you know are going to be a battle every night. When you’ve got two elite, competitive teams, that sometimes makes a rivalry.

“Sometimes the fans think it’s a rivalry and it’s not, and sometimes it is. I don’t know that we have one yet. But certainly the opportunity presents itself as we continue to grow.”