Now 43, Bird came out of UConn where she won two NCAA titles and only lost four games. Clark led her Iowa team to consecutive NCAA Championship games while becoming the NCAA Division I career scoring leader.
Both were No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft — 22 years apart — and landed on last-place teams.
Clark's Indiana Fever have just one win in their first seven games. Bird, who eventually won four WNBA titles with Seattle, recommends patience for Clark. She recently watched courtside when New York beat Clark and Indiana before more than 17,000 fans at the Barclays Center.
Now a part-owner of the Storm, Bird joins Lisa Leslie (LA Sparks) and Renee Montgomery (Atlanta Dream) as former WNBA players turned owners.
Bird thinks more lucrative broadcast rights contracts and an improved collective bargaining agreement will "dramatically" change the WNBA landscape in the next few years. That may include better salaries, more teams and more players on a roster.
Clark will earn just $76,000 as the No. 1 pick, although she signed NIL deals in college with Gatorade, State Farm and recently with Wilson as a pro. However, many in the WNBA still compete in other countries to supplement their income, given the 2024 veteran super maximum is $241,000.
The NBA has broadcast rights that generate more than $20 billion in revenue, and the 2023 top draft pick Victor Wembanyama earned $12.1 million in his rookie season. The NBA minimum salary is $1.1 million, with Golden State's Steph Curry the top earner at $51.9 million this year.