It's no secret that WNBA legends and greats have a lot of respect for Caitlin Clark. That respect extends to how she plays on the court, the ways she inspires her teammates to be better, and who she is as a person.
More: Sue Bird gives sage advice to the incoming 2025 WNBA rookies
While speaking on The Athletic's "No Offseason" podcast, Bird laid out exactly what makes Clark great — and what makes her difficult to guard.
sue bird on caitlin’s passing ability:
— cc akgae (@clrkszn) June 10, 2025
“what i think separates her on top of all the qualities that most great passers have is her strength—the easiest way to see it is her fullcourt passes but they happen in the halfcourt too—i would just add that strength as a differentiator.” pic.twitter.com/d7Bp2ETT4v
Clark has "incredible court vision" Bird pointed out, "the type of vision where she's able to anticipate and read."
"What I would add to that and what I think separates her, right, on top of all the qualities that most great passers have is her strength. Sometimes she's able to make passes not because she sees it, not 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," Bird explained.
That ability to read the court is something that is genuinely unique to Clark in 2025. "The easiest way to see it is her full court passes," Bird added, "but they happen in the half court too. Sometimes she'll have picked her dribble up, somebody will make a cut, and she still has the zip to get a bounce back, a backdoor pass off the bounce to her teammate on time."