Sue Bird calls for attention to 18-year-old college phenom mirroring Caitlin Clark and Steph Curry’s impact

WNBA legend Sue Bird heaped praise on 18-year-old Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller, who has been on a tear to start her freshman year for the Scarlet Knights. In eight games so far, McMiller has scored in double digits six times, including four games in which she scored at least 20 points.

In her latest outing, McMiller had 24 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, six assists and three 3-pointers in a 77-60 win over Georgia Southern.

On the "A Touch More" podcast, Bird said she saw the Caitlin Clark and Steph Curry effects as she watched the freshman’s performance.

“I also want to shout out Kiyomi McMiller, a guard from Rutgers. She had a monster game, it was against, I believe, Georgia Southern. So not a top-25 team, but she had 25, 11 and six, and it was her deep 3 that was kind of exciting,” Bird said (21:50 mark).

“She was throwing them up there from deep. Is that the Caitlin Clark effect? We used to call it the Steph Curry effect. So (I’m) keeping my eye on her.”

The game against Georgia Southern was McMiller’s most well-rounded. Her career high came on Nov. 27, when she scored 27 points in a loss to Princeton.

Sue Bird knows a thing or two about women’s basketball, having collected four championships with the Seattle Storm in 2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020. Her Olympic success is equally historic, with five gold medals earned in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

In college, she secured two NCAA championships with the University of Connecticut in 2000 and 2002. In 2017, Bird became the WNBA's all-time assists leader.

Sue Bird discusses disparity of attention on women’s basketball in college vs WNBA

Sue Bird was a huge star in college while playing for Connecticut. However, she noted that college hoops fans don't always translate to the WNBA, where crowds were often thin during her time.

"Society loves to give young girls and young women opportunity and promote that and support it," Bird said (per NPR). "But something about when they become women, it feels a little less supported."

"We're Black, we're women, we're gay. And those are the groups that are held back in our society. And so I don't think it's a coincidence that the WNBA has been held back in that way."

Sue Bird averaged 11.7 points, 5.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 39.2% from three over the course of her 580-game WNBA career. She headlined the 2025 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame class and is set to be inducted in June 2025.