Credit: nbcsports.com
On September 7, 2022 Sue Bird called it quits after her Seattle Storm lost to the Las Vegas Aces in the playoffs for a chance to go to the WNBA Finals. From 2 National Championships with the UConn Huskies to a dominant 18-year career with the Storm, Bird will forever be remembered as one of the greatest to ever do it.
In her 18-year career in the WNBA, Bird was a 13x All-Star, 5x All-WNBA First Team, 3x All-WNBA Second Team, 5x Olympic gold medalist and 4x FIBA World Champion with team USA, 4x WNBA Champion, and 3x WNBA assists leader in 2005, 2009, and 2016. Bird recorded over 3,000 career assists before hanging it up—the most by any player in the history of the WNBA.
To this date, Bird is the only WNBA player with at least 500 career appearances. She ended her career with a record 549 career starts and not once did she come off the bench in her lengthy 18-year tenure with the Storm.
Most impressively, Bird dominated basketball at the highest level standing just 5 feet, 9 inches tall. Bird played much taller than 5’9” as she finished third all-time in steals, shot a career 39.2% from deep, and finished second all-time in three-pointers with 965 for a career.
Bird will not completely leave the basketball scene, however, as she recently took a front office position with the Denver Nuggets and has dabbled in broadcasting opportunities in the past.
After casting a women’s Final Four game in Spring with fellow WNBA superstar Diana Taurasi on ESPN, Bird said she was looking forward to new opportunities “on the horizon,” which may be a hint that she will not be away from the game for very long.
Either way, her future off-the-court may be uncertain, but one thing is for certain: she is undoubtedly one of the greatest athletes of all time, be it male or female, the sports world has ever seen.
Farewell,
Sue Bird.
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