Being a sports star isn’t all about wealth, fame, and success. Sometimes, the pressure can break even the greatest players. A’ja Wilson, who recently became the first WNBA player to score 1000 points in a season, broke down in the Aces locker room. “You’ll never understand how much y’all mean to me because there’s days when I hate being A’ja Wilson. I hate it,” she told her teammates. Retired 13x WNBA All-Star Sue Bird, who has encountered many such days, knows this paradox very well.

Bird is regarded as one of the best female basketball players ever. The No.1 Overall from the 2002 WNBA draft scripted history in her 21-year career with the Seattle Storm. A’ja Wilson, en route to do something similarly legendary, got very emotional after setting a new scoring record.

“Life is hard. We all know it is. But when I come into work, I see y’all, it changes my whole outlook on life, so I am so, so appreciative for y’all,” the Aces Center added. On the latest episode of the ‘A Touch More’ podcast, Sue Bird echoed Wilson’s words.

“I hate being me sometimes too,” she told her fiance and co-host Megan Rapinoe. “I feel like inside the locker room, they have a very close-knit, vibey fun, but like intimate… a special locker room. As an athlete, that is maybe the safest place that you are,” the 5x Olympic gold winner added.

Bird was also appreciative of Caitlin Clark, who broke Seimone Augustus’ rookie scoring record of 744 points. “Congratulations to Caitlin,” she said. Bird is a legend of the league, and as they say, game recognizes game. Her opinion on Wilson & Clark’s performances have been unbiased throughout, and unsurprisingly, spot on.

Sue Bird’s MVP & Rookie of the Year predictions for A’ja Wilson & Caitlin Clark

With the WNBA playoffs around the corner, the race for individual-level milestones is in full force. Caitlin Clark is the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year and with Chicago Sky’s injured Angel Reese out of the race, the Indiana rookie is almost set to take the award home. Sue Bird had this intuition even before Reese got injured. “I personally, ever since All-Star break, have felt that Caitlin Clark is the Rookie of the Year,” she had said via ‘A Touch More’.

The retired star also got another prediction right that she made in August. “She’s (Clark) going to break records nonstop for the next couple of years. It’s just going to be a constant record break.” Lo and Behold! Clark already has the rookie scoring record with 761 points in 39 games, the all-time records for most single-season assists, most single-season 3pm, and many more.

Coming to A’ja Wilson, Sue Bird also declared that the Aces star almost has the 2024 MVP in the bag. “I’ve seen it all when it comes to MVP races. I try to not listen to all the noise,” she said in August. “Yes, the Aces have lost more games than people anticipated, but A’ja Wilson’s play has not dropped. She has been the most consistent throughout the course of this season. For that reason, I’d give her the edge.”

Having walked the walk better than others could, Bird has a sixth sense of what is to come. As for Clark and Wilson, they will only get better as the championship prize nears.