Ever since Caitlin Clark set foot on a WNBA court, the league’s popularity has skyrocketed. Just take a look at the jersey sales – Clark finished 2024 with the second-highest jersey sales of any basketball player, trailing only Steph Curry. She’s without a doubt the biggest name in the W right now. But former Timberwolves guard Rashad McCants took it even further. He declared her the face of the entire NBA. “THE FACE OF THE NBA IS CAITLIN CLARK!!! Yea I said it!!!!” McCants posted on X. “She has handled criticism better than the people you consider THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!!! @CaitlinClark22 you’re the GOAT!!!” But while there are people who consider CC as the face of the sport, one WNBA legend isn’t even ready to call her the face of the league. Let alone the entire game.

Look, a lot can be said about Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking rookie season with the Indiana Fever. She became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double while also becoming the first Fever player to achieve that feat. But it doesn’t stop there! She made even more history by becoming the first player in league history to drop 20+ points, 15+ assists, and 5+ rebounds in a single game. And that’s just scratching the surface. Clark finished with the most points and assists by a rookie and went on to win Rookie of the Year. It was a perfect season capped off with the Fever’s first trip to the playoffs since 2016.

In her sophomore season, Clark now averages 19.8 points, 8.9 assists, and 5.4 rebounds a game – numbers pretty similar to her rookie season. We are still in the early days, but she’s clearly picking up right where she left off. And if anyone doubted her impact, just look at what happened when she missed two weeks with that left quad injury. Ticket prices dropped from $137 to just $80. Some even plunged from $86 to a shocking $25. There was a noticeable decline in viewership as well. Nationally televised games saw a 55% drop in viewership, according to USA Today.

But despite all the numbers and impact, Sue Bird had other names in mind when it came to who truly represents the WNBA. On her Bird’s Eye View with Sue Bird podcast, she was joined by Breanna Stewart, and that’s when she made her stance clear. In Bird’s opinion, it’s been Stewie and A’ja Wilson who’ve carried the torch as the face of the league since 2020. She said, “One thing that I think starts in 2020 – not I think, it does – is that now you and A’ja now like emerge as like, this is it. These are the top two players. And then from literally that point on, it’s like each year, who’s going to get the MVP?”

To be fair, she’s not wrong. Since 2018, Breanna Stewart has won two MVPs, and A’ja Wilson has claimed three. Both have consistently been among the league’s top five players and have dominated year after year. So it’s understandable why Sue Bird didn’t immediately bring up Caitlin Clark. Despite Clark’s undeniable impact, the legacies of Stewie and A’ja still tower above the 23-year-old rookie. That said, there’s one thing Bird values above all when it comes to greatness – something that, for her, isn’t negotiable.

Last month, in a May 28 interview with Bleacher Report, Bird drew a comparison between Clark’s statistical output and that of the Chicago Sky’s Courtney Vandersloot. On the surface, it only sounded like praise, a challenge, and a nod to how great Clark already is and how much greater her legacy will be. But for those reading a little too deeply between the lines, it sparked criticism. Some questioned whether the former UConn star was subtly referring to the stat-padding accusations that surfaced after Clark’s triple-double against the Sparks last year.

She said, “She’s already breaking records left and right… the way this kid fills a box score is unprecedented. I think what we all want to see from her is that translating into championships—because ultimately, for me anyway, that’s how you get judged. If I were to put a statistical benchmark on this… she could end up being the – like, I think Courtney Vandersloot at one point averaged a double-double with points and assists – but Caitlin might be the first to do it with over 20 points.”

To us, it just seems like Bird has her own set of parameters, which are crucial for what it takes to be the face of the league. One of them is definitely winning the championship. Something both Stewie and A’ja have done multiple times. Clark still has plenty of time to achieve that. But with the Fever sitting at 6-7 to start the season, that championship dream might be a little out of reach, for now! As for the subtle stat-padding dig? Doesn’t seem likely. After all, Bird did say last year that she doesn’t “do the stat comparison… it can help when things are close… I just do the eye test, and to me [Caitlin Clark] is Rookie of the Year”. 

Now, all that we have discussed isn’t to say that Bird has a bias against CC. It’s far from that, actually. Her recent interview with The Athletic might just shift the narrative entirely for anyone who thought that she was being unfair towards Clark.

Sue Bird praises Caitlin Clark’s passing

Before missing W action for two weeks with a left quadriceps injury, Clark was leading the league in assists, recording over 9 assists per game. Since her return, there’s been a slight dip, with that number now at 8.9. Still, it’s clear as day that Clark remains one of the best playmakers in the league right now.

On the June 10 episode of “No Offseason,” The Athletic’s podcast, Sue Bird spoke about Clark’s passing ability. She said, “What I think separates her, on top of all the qualities that most great passers have, is that she has strength. Sometimes she’s able to make passes not because she sees it or because she’s reading the defense — yes, those things exist, but that’s not why she’s able to make the pass — she’s able to make the pass because she can actually get it there. The easiest way to see it is with her full-court passes, but they also happen in the half-court. Sometimes she’ll have picked her dribble up, somebody will cut, and she still has the zip to get a backdoor pass off the bounce to her teammate on time.”

That’s high praise coming from a Hall of Famer who’s often accused of being biased against Caitlin Clark. But that is clearly not the case. Wanting Clark to win a championship before being in the mix for being the face of the league is a very justified reason. What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments down below!