Sue Bird believes that the WNBA is in good hands as the league’s new wave of young stars continue to excel both on and off the court.

While discussing the 2024 rookie class – specifically Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese – Bird praised the two players for being business savvy. “It’s really fun, rewarding, and also interesting to watch these younger athletes step into their professional careers,” she said during an appearance on ‘Meet The Press’ alongside former USWNT star Megan Rapinoe. “Obviously, Caitlin and Angel are two great examples.

“What I see immediately, and I think some of this has to do with NIL in college, right? Like so much earlier, these athletes are thinking about themselves as businesses, as brands, and it’s amazing because they’re carrying that with them to the WNBA. And so everything’s just bigger.”

Both at the collegiate and professional levels, Reese and Clark have capitalized nicely on their massive fan bases and national fame. Most recently, the former inked a multiyear deal with Reebok that includes a signature shoe which will debut in 2026 – adding to an extensive portfolio that already features partnerships with Hershey’s, Beats by Dre., Good American and Cash App.

Clark, meanwhile, signed an eight-year, $28 million shoe deal with Nike ahead of her WNBA rookie season, and has also teamed up with major brands such as Gatorade, State Farm, Panini America and Goldman Sachs.

At the age of 22, Bird conceded that she paid far little attention to her business dealings compared to Reese and Clark. “They just seem so much more self-aware, in that way, in a business sense, than I ever was at that age,” the 44-year-old said.

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Angel Reese recently signed a multi-year shoe deal with Reebok

Angel Reese recently signed a multi-year shoe deal with Reebok ( 

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Getty Images)

“I would say that you ever were [to Rapinoe], because that just wasn’t our worlds, right? But now they’re in that world. And so my only advice is usually just to make sure they keep basketball the main thing, because at the end of the day, that is your vehicle. It’s your vehicle to, Angel Reese has a podcast. It’s her vehicle to be a podcaster, right? Whatever Caitlin ends up doing, it’s the vehicle to get you to that point.”

Though Bird has been more than impressed with Clark and Reese’s work outside of basketball, she warned the pair to keep their utmost focus on the sport. “So you always want to make sure that part doesn’t fall off, and I think now we’re experiencing it a little bit in retirement,” Bird added. “We experienced it towards the end of our careers. It’s a balance. You have to find that balance.

“But when you look at some of the other athletes, particularly men who’ve set a little bit of a blueprint in terms of the business and the sport, you never see LeBron [James] miss a workout, and that’s so that’s just something we did at the end of our career, find that balance.

And I would just always want to encourage younger people to make sure they find that balance.”