Sue Bird Makes WNBA Prediction for Iowa Star Caitlin Clark

Can Iowa star Caitlin Clark make the WNBA All-Star team as a rookie?

Retired basketball star Sue Bird doesn’t see why not.

“I think if she plays up to her potential, yes, that’s realistic,” Bird told the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast. “And by the way, that’s not a knock on anyone in the WNBA. It’s going to be hard, but I think she can do it.”

Bird emphasized that Clark’s penchant for shooting the ball from distance—a trait that has made her extremely difficult to cover in college—would be the skill that would catapult her into the All-Star conversation as a rookie.

Iowa star guard Caitlin Clark pulls up from deep to set the NCAA Division I women’s career scoring record on Feb. 15.

Joseph Cress/For the Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

“You are now playing against adults, and this is their career,” Bird added. “But I do think she has a chance of having a lot of success early, and 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.”

Clark set the NCAA Division I women’s career scoring record last Thursday night in a home victory over Michigan. The shot to break Kelsey Plum’s record of 3,527 points came on a deep three-point shot from the logo, which Bird knows can be a calling card for Clark at the next level.

Clark is a senior but has one season of NCAA eligibility remaining due to a rule that allows athletes who competed in the 2020-21 COVID season to receive an extra year. She hasn’t yet stated whether she intends to enter the 2024 WNBA draft or run it back for a fifth season with the Hawkeyes.