Sue Bird and Chiney Ogwumike, two former WNBA players, praised Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever for her first season impact both on and off the court.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA impact draws major Sue Bird, Chiney Ogwumike praise
Former WNBA players Sue Bird and Chiney Ogwumike heaped praise on the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark for her impact on and off the court as a rookie.

Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark between former WNBA players Sue Bird and Chiney Ogwumike
Caitlin Clark’s impact on the WNBA and women’s basketball has been a hot topic among media members, athletes, and fans since she became one of the fastest-rising stars in sports as the star of the Iowa women’s basketball team. The conversation has continued throughout her rookie WNBA season with the Indiana Fever, and Sue Bird and Chiney Ogwumike are among those praising Clark.

Both Bird and Ogwumike played in the WNBA — Bird for about 20 years and Ogwumike for nearly a decade — and have become popular personalities in the media. Their praise of Clark was for different reasons, though, as Bird was discussing the WNBA Rookie of the Year race, while Ogwumike spoke on Clark’s general impact as a face of women’s basketball.

While talking with her fiancee Megan Rapinoe during a live show, Bird said she favors Clark in the WNBA Rookie of the Year race.

“I have Caitlin as Rookie of the Year,” Bird said. “For Rookie of the Year, I don’t do the stat comparison. Yeah, it can help… I just do the eye test, and to me, she’s Rookie of the Year.”

Ogwumike was recently on the Awful Announcing Podcast, where she said Clark’s “impact” extended further than just the WNBA.

“She is the most impactful player that I’ve seen hit the scene — not even just in basketball, but in sports — in a generation for how she moves the needle, not only in viewership, but business, and that rising tide lifts all boats,” Ogwumike said before naming Maya Moore, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, and Diana Taurasi as those who exhibited “greatness” in the WNBA but did not have the impact Clark has had on the league’s popularity.

“But Caitlin Clark is bringing it to new heights, exponential heights,” Ogwumike continued, “and it’s bringing and ushering in the moment that we have always been waiting for.”