Current:Home > FinanceWNBA legend Sue Bird says Iowa's Caitlin Clark will have 'success early' in league. Here's why-InfoLens
WNBA legend Sue Bird says Iowa's Caitlin Clark will have 'success early' in league. Here's why
View Date:2024-12-23 16:39:06
Four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird believes Caitlin Clark's game will translate well into the WNBA.
"I do think she has a chance at having a lot of success early," Bird said during an appearance on "The Sports Media Podcast" with Richard Deitsch, which airs in full on Thursday.
Bird cites the Iowa star's range as the key weapon to her success. (Clark did break the women's all-time NCAA scoring record last week on a 35-foot logo shot, after all.) "I think a lot of it comes down to her long-distance shooting. That is her separator. You’re not really used to guarding people out there," Bird explained.
WATCH: Caitlin Clark’s historic 3-point logo shot that broke the women's NCAA scoring record
QUIZ: Love her or hate her, what kind of Caitlin Clark fan are you? Take our quiz to find out.
Bird said it's "realistic" for Clark to be an All-Star her first year in the league "if she plays up to her potential."
“That’s not a knock on anyone in the WNBA. It’s going to be hard, but I think she can do it," said Bird, who retired from the WNBA in 2022 after 22 seasons. "You do have to see what happens when they get there. You are now playing against adults and this is their career. But I do think she has a chance at having a lot of success early."
There has been much speculation about whether Clark will return to Iowa next season. The 22-year-old guard has an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic or she can declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft, where Clark would be a surefire No. 1 pick for the Indiana Fever. Bird said Indiana has “a really good roster for her."
“She’s going to be teaming up right out the gate with two really good post players (Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith) that are going to complement her,” Bird said. “There is precedent for people coming out of college and coming in and playing amazing, players such as Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and others. But she still has to come in and do it and there’ll be some growing pains just like all those players I just listed had.”
OPINION: Should Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa or go to WNBA? How about the Olympics? It's complicated
Whether she chooses to stay at Iowa or move to the WNBA, all eyes will be on Clark. Bird attributed the limelight around Clark to her long-range game and the evolution of women's sports, particularly basketball.
“Let’s start with her long-distance shooting,” Bird said. “The one thing that cancels out people’s obsession with dunking as it relates to the comparison between men’s and women’s basketball is deep shooting. If we want to call it the logo 3, let’s call it that. For whatever reason, men in particular, they don’t hate on it. There’s nothing to hate on because it is what it is. So I think that part of her game lends to people cheering for it. I think it’s also captivating, right? The way that she plays with the long-distance shooting, it’s captivating. Everybody’s interested in it. So that’s one part of it.”
Bird added: “I think the other part is that women’s basketball is having a moment and that moment needed somebody to team up with it. So Caitlin, based on just the year in which she was born and doing what she is doing in college right now, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this moment. There are other players right now in college basketball where you can feel excitement. JuJu Watkins is killing it at USC and could arguably end up being one of the best players ever. I’m not saying that loosely; it’s because of the way she is starting her career.”
Clark next plays on Thursday when No. 4 Iowa takes on No. 14 Indiana.
CAITLIN CLARK sets sights on Pete Maravich with next game vs. Indiana
veryGood! (81481)
Related
- Supreme Court seems likely to allow class action to proceed against tech company Nvidia
- Schools reopen with bolstered security in Kentucky county near the site of weekend I-75 shooting
- Indiana Supreme Court sets date for first state execution in 13 years
- Joe Schmidt, Detroit Lions star linebacker on 1957 champions and ex-coach, dead at 92
- California farmers enjoy pistachio boom, with much of it headed to China
- Loose electrical cable found on ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse
- SpaceX astronaut Anna Menon reads 'Kisses in Space' to her kids in orbit: Watch
- Jury awards $6M to family members of Black Lives Matter protester killed by a car on Seattle freeway
- Minnesota county to pay $3.4M to end lawsuit over detainee’s death
- Francis Ford Coppola sues Variety over story alleging ‘Megalopolis’ misconduct
Ranking
- Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron amid stretch of 23 drives without a TD
- Smartmatic’s suit against Newsmax over 2020 election reporting appears headed for trial
- Video shows dog leap out of car window to chase deer eating grass in New York: Watch
- Marcellus Williams' Missouri execution to go forward despite prosecutor's concerns
- Mike Tyson concedes the role of villain to young foe in 58-year-old’s fight with Jake Paul
- Loose electrical cable found on ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse
- Jury awards $6M to family members of Black Lives Matter protester killed by a car on Seattle freeway
- The Glossier Hot Cocoa Balm Dotcom Sold Every 5 Seconds Last Winter: Get Yours Before It Sells Out
Recommendation
-
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul press conference highlights: 'Problem Child' goads 'Iron Mike'
-
Marcellus Williams' Missouri execution to go forward despite prosecutor's concerns
-
Rams hilariously adopt Kobie Turner's 'old man' posture on bench. Is it comfortable?
-
2nd Circuit rejects Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in hush money case
-
Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts 'shocked' by Trump Cabinet picks: 'Goblins and weirdos'
-
Why Billie Eilish Skipped the 2024 MTV VMAs
-
Arkansas county jail and health provider agree to $6 million settlement over detainee’s 2021 death
-
Illia “Golem” Yefimchyk, World's “Most Monstrous” Bodybuilder, Dead at 36 After Heart Attack