Sue Bird
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is an American former professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player who played her entire career with the
Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
( WNBA) Bird was drafted by the Storm first overall in the
2002 WNBA draft The 2002 WNBA draft was the first to implement a lottery that arranges the order of the first four overall picks. The lottery gave four teams with the identically worst record of 10–22 from the 2001 season an equal chance to own the first o ...
and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2021, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in Russia. She holds both U.S. and Israeli citizenship. In high school, she was the New York State Player of the Year, the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' Player of the Year, and a WBCA All-American. In her senior year on the undefeated
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
team in 2002, she won the
Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...
and the
Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of the ...
as College Player of the Year. She finished her UConn career ranked first in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, second in assists and steals, and as a three-time winner of the
Nancy Lieberman Award The Nancy Lieberman Award, named for Basketball Hall of Fame legend Nancy Lieberman, was given annually by the Rotary Club of Detroit in the Award's first 14 years to the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. Sue Bi ...
as the top point guard in the nation, while leading her team to a record of 114–4. Bird has won a joint-record four WNBA championships with the Storm (
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
), a historic five Olympic gold medals (
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
,
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, and
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
), two NCAA Championships with
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...
(2000, 2002); and four
FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...
s (2002, 2010, 2014, 2018). She is one of only 11 women to attain all four accolades. She is also a five-time EuroLeague Women champion (2007-2010, 2013). During her WNBA career, she has been selected to thirteen WNBA All-Star teams and eight All-WNBA teams. Additionally, she was voted by fans as one of the
WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time The Women's National Basketball Association's Top 15 Players of All Time were chosen in 2011 on the occasion of the fifteenth season of the WNBA from amongst 30 nominees compiled by the league by fan, media, coach, and player voting. The group was ...
in 2011, was voted into the
WNBA Top 20@20 WNBA Top 20@20 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 20 Players of All Time, chosen in 2016 on the occasion of the twentieth season of the WNBA from amongst 60 nominees compiled by the league. The group was to comprise the 20 best a ...
as one of the league's top 20 players of all time in 2016, and was voted into
The W25 The W25 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 25 Players of All Time, chosen in 2021 on the occasion of the 25th season of the WNBA from amongst 72 nominees compiled by the league. The group, selected by a panel consisting of media ...
as one of the league's top 25 players of all time in 2021. Her fifth Olympic gold medal, at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, makes her one of only two Olympic basketball players—of either gender—ever to win five gold medals, with the other player being her US Olympic teammate Diana Taurasi. Bird publicly confirmed on June 16, 2022 that she will retire from playing professional basketball after the
2022 WNBA season The 2022 WNBA season was the 26th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Chicago Sky were the defending champions. The WNBA's second Commissioner's Cup took place during the regular season, with the Las Vegas Aces win ...
. Her season ended on September 7, 2022 with the Storm's playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces.


Early life

Bird was born in Syosset, Nassau County,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
to Herschel and Nancy Bird. She has one sibling, an older sister named Jen. Her father's ancestry is
Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
, and their original last name was "Boorda". She is also an
Israeli citizen Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...
since 2006, on account of her
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
father and paternal grandparents, but she represents her birth country, the United States, in international competitions. Bird was interested in sports from an early age, which was partly influenced by her athletic older sister. Besides basketball, she played soccer and tennis and ran track. Bird started playing
Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...
basketball in the sixth grade. While only 11 years old, she played during halftime of a St. John's basketball game; her play was so impressive that a security guard asked for her autograph.


High school

Bird played her freshman and sophomore years at
Syosset High School Syosset High School (SHS) is a public high school located in Syosset, New York, United States, in Nassau County, on Long Island. It serves as the public high school for residents of the Syosset Central School District. As of 2012, the news maga ...
, but wanted more competition. She therefore enrolled at
Christ the King Regional High School Christ the King Regional High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic high school for grades 9-12 located in Middle Village, Queens, New York, United States and established in 1962. It is located within the Roman Catholic Dioces ...
in
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York. Bird spent two seasons at Christ the King, and the Royals went 24–3 her junior year. In the second season her team finished undefeated and won the New York state championship, and the national title. Bird won many awards, including the New York State Player of the Year, and the ''New York Daily News'' Player of the Year. Bird was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the
Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBCA ...
High School All-America Game, where she scored 11 points.


College

Bird was recruited by a number of teams including
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
and Vanderbilt. She considered UConn the favorite, but she began to waver when Keirsten Walters and Brianne Stepherson, both point guards, announced commitments to UConn. She worried that there might not be room for her to play. However, when Stepherson changed her mind and committed to
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, Bird committed to UConn. In addition to increased opportunity, UConn was close to home and "felt right" to her. Eight games into her freshman season, Bird suffered a
torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...
. Since she had played more than 20% of team's games the 1998–1999 season, she was not able to
redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
. In her sophomore season (1999–2000), she came back to lead the team to a 36–1 record, the Big East Championship, and the 2000 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. In her junior season (2000–2001), the Huskies went 32–3, with the final loss coming against UConn's Big East rival Notre Dame in the Final Four. This game would be the last loss in Bird's college career, as the Huskies went 39–0 in 2001–2002, her senior season. In that season, she also won the
Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...
,
Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...
and
Naismith Award Naismith Award is a basketball award named after James Naismith, and awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Naismith Awards include: * Naismith College Player of the Year (men's and women's; NCAA Division I basketball) * Naismith College Coach of the ...
as College Player of the Year. During her junior year, Bird played in a game against Notre Dame referred to as "the best women's basketball game ever played". The game was memorialized in a book, '' Bird at the Buzzer'', in which Bird took the eponymous shot at the buzzer to win the game. She finished her UConn career on many of the record lists. She currently ranks No. 24 on the 1,000-point list with 1,378 points, No. 2 in assists with 585, and seventh with 243 steals. She ranks number 1 in three-point field goal percentage (45.9) and free throw percentage (89.2). She won two National Championships, three Big East Championships and Big East regular season titles. Bird was the inaugural winner of the
Nancy Lieberman Award The Nancy Lieberman Award, named for Basketball Hall of Fame legend Nancy Lieberman, was given annually by the Rotary Club of Detroit in the Award's first 14 years to the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. Sue Bi ...
in 2000, given to the top point guard in the nation, and won the award again in 2001 and 2002. Overall, her record at UConn in games she played is a remarkable 114–4. Bird was a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.


College statistics

Source


Professional career


WNBA

The
Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...
selected Bird with the first overall pick of the
2002 WNBA draft The 2002 WNBA draft was the first to implement a lottery that arranges the order of the first four overall picks. The lottery gave four teams with the identically worst record of 10–22 from the 2001 season an equal chance to own the first o ...
. She would play alongside superstar Lauren Jackson who was also drafted first overall the year before. In her rookie season, Bird started all 32 games for the Storm and averaged 14.4 ppg. She was selected as a starter on the 2002 WNBA Western Conference All-Star team. Bird was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award, and one of only two rookies to make the All-WNBA First Team. Both Bird and Jackson led the Storm to their first playoff appearance. During her first year in the league, Bird scored a career-high 33 points in a regular-season game against the
Portland Fire The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games a ...
. Since her rookie season she has continuously been selected to the Western Conference All-Star team. In 2004, the Storm acquired shooting guard
Betty Lennox Betty Bernice Lennox (born December 4, 1976) is an American retired professional basketball player. She played for the Minnesota Lynx, Miami Sol, Cleveland Rockers, Seattle Storm, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks and Tulsa Shock in the Women' ...
in a
dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...
, joining forces with Bird and Lauren Jackson, forming a dominant trio of star players to carry the Storm to its first WNBA Championship. By winning the WNBA Championship, Bird became one of 11 women to receive an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, and a WNBA Championship. The others are
Sheryl Swoopes Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 20 ...
,
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke (born April 14, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who has won championships in college, in the Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is considered by many as one ...
,
Tamika Catchings Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Catchings has won a WNBA champio ...
,
Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...
and fellow Huskies
Swin Cash Swintayla Marie "Swin" Cash Canal (born September 22, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played professionally for 15 seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She currently serves as vice preside ...
, Kara Wolters, Diana Taurasi,
Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greates ...
,
Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart (born Baldwin; born August 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In high school, Stewart was the National Gatorade Player o ...
, and
Asjha Jones Asjha Takera Jones (born August 1, 1980) is a former American professional women's basketball power forward and coach who is now on the staff of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 2019, she became the fir ...
. En route to the Storm's second championship, Bird had one of the most clutch moments in WNBA Playoff history; during the Conference Finals against the championship-defending
Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...
with the Storm up 1–0 in the series, Bird hit a game winning three-pointer with two seconds left in Game 2 to put the Storm up 91–88, after erasing a 19-point deficit to advance to the 2010 WNBA Finals. Also in Game 1 of the 2010 WNBA Finals, Bird hit a game winning jump shot with 2 seconds left to put the Storm up 79–77 and would later sweep the series. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the 15-year history of the WNBA. During the 2012 WNBA season, Bird had been having problems with her knee. Bird was still able to play 29 games during the regular season and in the playoffs. In the off-season, Bird had knee surgery which would prevent her from playing the entire 2013 season. Bird would come back healthy for the 2014 WNBA season, she played 33 games, averaged 10.6 ppg and 4.6 apg. She was voted as a WNBA all-star that year. However the Storm never made it to the playoffs and would also fail to make the playoffs the following year. On February 16, 2016, Bird re-signed with the Storm to a multi-year deal in free agency. In the 2016 season, Bird would have a resurgence, putting up her best numbers since coming back from knee surgery. She averaged 12.8 ppg while shooting a career-high in 3-point field goal percentage and led the league in assists with 5.8 apg. For the fifth time in her career, Bird was named to the All-WNBA First Team for the first time in 12 years. Prior to the season, the Storm selected
Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart (born Baldwin; born August 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In high school, Stewart was the National Gatorade Player o ...
first overall in the 2016 WNBA draft, their second number one overall pick in a row after drafting
Jewell Loyd Jewell Loyd (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Perfumerias Avenida of Spain's Liga Femenina de Baloncesto and the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first o ...
the year before. With the addition of Stewart and Loyd quickly developing into a star player, the Storm made it back to the playoffs for the first time in 3 years with a 16–18 record. With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Storm were the number 7 seed in the league and faced the
Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...
in the first round, losing the single elimination game 94–85. Bird was also listed in the
WNBA Top 20@20 WNBA Top 20@20 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 20 Players of All Time, chosen in 2016 on the occasion of the twentieth season of the WNBA from amongst 60 nominees compiled by the league. The group was to comprise the 20 best a ...
, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary. In April 2017, it was announced by the Storm that Bird had undergone left knee surgery earlier in the month, which caused her to miss training camp. She was ruled out indefinitely. On May 21, 2017, Bird returned after recovering from knee surgery and made her season debut, making her both the oldest active player and the oldest starter in the WNBA. She scored 9 points along with 10 assists in an 81–71 victory over the
Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...
. On June 11, 2017, Bird scored a season-high 21 points along with 10 assists in a 94–86 loss to the
New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...
. Bird was voted into the
2017 WNBA All-Star Game The 2017 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 22, 2017. The Seattle Storm hosted a WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. Starters for this year's All-Star game were selected by a combination of fan, media, and pla ...
, making it her 10th all-star game appearance (tying
Tamika Catchings Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Catchings has won a WNBA champio ...
for most all-star game appearances). She had set the All-Star Game record for assists with a performance of 8 points along with 11 assists for the Western Conference All-Stars team in a 130–121 victory. On September 1, 2017, Bird became the WNBA all-time leader in assists with a career total of 2,600 assists, passing
Ticha Penicheiro Patrícia Nunes "Ticha" Penicheiro, OIH (September 18, 1974) is a Portuguese sports agent and former basketball player. She played for the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA for most of her professional career. She was a four-time WNBA All-Star an ...
in a 110–106 overtime loss to the Washington Mystics. She finished the game with 19 points along with a season-high of 13 assists. Bird would finish off the 2017 season, averaging a career-high in assists per game as the Storm finished 15–19 with the 8th seed in the league. The Storm would lose 79–69 to the Phoenix Mercury in the first round elimination game. On July 8, 2018, Bird scored a season-high 21 points in a 97–91 victory over the Washington Mystics. During that game she became the Storm's all-time leading scorer, passing Lauren Jackson's 6,007 points. On July 19, 2018, Bird was voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, passing
Tamika Catchings Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979) is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Catchings has won a WNBA champio ...
for most all-star appearances. On July 22, 2018, Bird broke yet another record, this time for the most WNBA regular-season games played after she passed
Delisha Milton-Jones DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American a ...
by playing her 500th game against the Atlanta Dream. By the end of the season, Bird finished with a career-high in assists, field goal shooting and a new career-high in three-point shooting percentage as the Storm finished as the number 1 seed in the league with a 26–8 record, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. In the semi-finals, the Storm defeated the Phoenix Mercury in a hard-fought five-game series. The Storm had a 2–0 lead, lost two in a row and finished off the series with a win in game 5 at home. Bird scored a season-high 22 points in game 5. With that win, the Storm would advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2010. In the Finals, they would sweep the Washington Mystics, winning their first championship in 8 years. During the first week of the 2019 season, Bird was sidelined as she once again underwent left knee surgery and was ruled out indefinitely. By September 2019, it was announced that Bird would not return, causing her to miss the entire season. Without Bird, the Storm were unable to defend their title as they were eliminated in the second round elimination game by the Los Angeles Sparks. In 2020, Bird would be fully healthy and make her return for the Storm. The season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at
IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. She had reaggravated her knee during the season, causing her to miss half of the games, with a fully healthy and active roster, the Storm finished 18–4 with the number 2 seed, receiving a double bye to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they would sweep the
Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...
in three games, advancing back to the WNBA Finals for the second time in three years. In the Finals, the Storm would win the championship after defeating the
Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...
in a three-game sweep, earning Bird her fourth WNBA championship, making her the first player in WNBA history to win a championship in three different decades. In 2021, Bird re-signed with the Storm on a one-year deal, which allowed her to play her 18th season in the league, moving her past Milton-Jones for most seasons played in the WNBA. In a July 2021 game against the Los Angeles Sparks Bird's first three-pointer put her number sixth on the WNBA career scoring list, passing
Katie Smith Katie Smith (born June 4, 1974) is lead assistant coach for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is the former head coach of the New York Liberty. A retired professional basketball player, Smith's prima ...
's 6452 points with a total of 6490 points (as of August 2021) and counting. During that season, the WNBA's 25th, she was named to
The W25 The W25 are the Women's National Basketball Association's Top 25 Players of All Time, chosen in 2021 on the occasion of the 25th season of the WNBA from amongst 72 nominees compiled by the league. The group, selected by a panel consisting of media ...
, the league's official list of the 25 greatest players in its history.


Overseas

In the 2004–05 WNBA off-season, she played in Russia, with Storm teammate Kamila Vodichkova on the
Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
. In the 2005–06 WNBA off-season, she played on the same team, reaching the Russian championship and the Euroleague women's playoffs. In the 2006–07 WNBA off-season, she joined Storm teammate Lauren Jackson and fellow UConn stars Diana Taurasi and Svetlana Abrosimova on the Russian team
Spartak Moscow Region Women's Basketball Club Sparta&K is a women's basketball team based in Vidnoye, Russia that plays in FIBA’s EuroLeague Women. History It won the 2005–06 EuroCup Women and the 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 EuroLeague Women ...
to win both the
Russian Super League Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and the EuroLeague Women championships. Bird would keep playing with the team for the next four WNBA off-seasons. From 2011 to 2014, Bird played three off-seasons for
UMMC Ekaterinburg BC Ekaterinburg (russian: БК «УГМК») is a Russian women's basketball team based in Yekaterinburg competing in the Russian Premier League, and until February 2022 in FIBA Europe's EuroLeague Women. In reaction to the 2022 Russian inv ...
in the Russian League winning three consecutive championships with the team.


National team career

She competed with
USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...
as a member of the 2000 Jones Cup Team in
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, Taiwan. Bird started all four games, and led the team with 17 assists, helping lead the team to the gold medal. In 2002, Bird was named to the national team which competed in the World Championships in
Zhangjiagang Zhangjiagang (), formerly Shazhou County (), is a county-level city under the administration of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China and one of the many ports along the Yangtze river. With 1,246,762 inhabitants as of the 2010 census, the city is now ...
,
Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
and
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, China. The team was coached by
Van Chancellor Van Winston Chancellor (born September 27, 1943) is a former college and professional basketball coach. He coached University of Mississippi women's basketball, Louisiana State University women's basketball, and the professional Houston Comet ...
. Bird scored 4.3 points per game. The USA team won all nine games, including a close title game against Russia, which was a one-point game late in the game. In the 2003–2004 off-season, Bird was named to the United States 2004 Women's Olympic Basketball Team's roster. The USA team would go on to win the gold at the games in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece. In 2006, Bird was invited back to the National team for the World Championships held in
Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...
in September 2006. With the retirements of
Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on F ...
and
Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball Hall of Fame player and coach, who is currently the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Staley won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later was head co ...
and injuries to
Sheryl Swoopes Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 20 ...
, Bird, along with
Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...
and Diana Taurasi stepped up to leading roles on the national team. The USA team won eight of the nine games they played, but fell against Russia 75–68 in the medal round, so ended up with the bronze medal. Over the nine games, Bird hit 50% of her three-point attempts, tying her for accuracy leadership along with Taurasi and Swoopes. Bird led the team with 41 assists. In the summer of 2008, she was invited back to be on the 2008 Olympic basketball team. The team won the gold medal in
Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Bird started all eight games, and led the team in steals, with 14. Bird was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational. In 2010, Bird was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball. This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the
FIBA World Championship for Women The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, also known as the Basketball World Cup for Women or simply the FIBA Women's World Cup, is an international basketball tournament for women's national teams held quadrennially. It was created by the Internati ...
to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010. Bird was selected to be a member of the National team representing the US at the World Championships held in September and October 2010. The team was coached by
Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an Italian-born American college basketball coach and, since 1985, the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. , he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference sea ...
. Because many team members were still playing in the WNBA until just prior to the event, the team had only one day of practice with the entire team before leaving for
Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...
and
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...
, Czech Republic. Even with limited practice, the team managed to win its first games against Greece by 26 points. The team continued to dominate with victory margins exceeding 20 points in the first five games. Several players shared scoring honors, with
Swin Cash Swintayla Marie "Swin" Cash Canal (born September 22, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played professionally for 15 seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She currently serves as vice preside ...
,
Angel McCoughtry Angel Lajuane McCoughtry (born September 10, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. McCoughtry complet ...
,
Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greates ...
, Diana Taurasi, Lindsay Whalen, and
Sylvia Fowles Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles (born October 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her career in the WNBA. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Pl ...
all ending as high scorer in the first few games. The sixth game was against undefeated Australia — the USA jumped out to a 24-point lead and the USA prevailed 83–75. The USA won its next two games by over 30 points, then faced the host team, the Czech Republic, in the championship game. The USA team had only a five-point lead at halftime, which was cut to three points, but the Czechs never got closer. Team USA went on to win the championship and gold medal. Bird averaged 5.6 points per game and led the team in assists with 26. Bird competed for the U.S. in the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. The Americans won their fifth straight gold medal. In 2014, Bird had competed for Team USA during the
2014 FIBA World Championship for Women The 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, the 17th edition of FIBA's premier international tournament for women's national basketball teams, was held in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey from 27 September to 5 October 2014. This tournament implement ...
, in which they defeated Spain 77–64 to win the gold medal. Bird competed for Team USA in the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, helping the team win its sixth straight gold medal, as they beat Spain 101–72 in the gold medal game. This was Bird's fourth Olympic title. In 2018, Bird competed for Team USA during the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup held in Spain, in which they defeated Australia 73–56 to win the gold medal. By winning the gold medal, Bird became the only player in history, male or female, to win four World Cup gold medals. Bird finished the final with five assists to bring her career total to 107 assists in FIBA World Cup – making her the leader for the U.S. most assists at the World Cup. On July 23, 2021, in the lead-up to her quest for her fifth gold medal, Bird carried the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Bird and baseball player
Eddy Alvarez Eduardo Cortes Alvarez (born January 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to his ba ...
were selected as the flag bearers by their fellow athletes. Bird called the honor “mind-blowing.” The Games were delayed from 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


WNBA career statistics


Career achievements

*Only player to win a WNBA championship in three different decades (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) **Oldest player in WNBA history to play a whole season. 41 yrs, 246 days. (Note:
Nancy Lieberman Nancy Elizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thun ...
played 9 minutes in 1 game at age 50 years 23 days.) *Top 10 all-time in: **1st in most season played (20) **1st in Games Played (580) **1st in assists (3,234) **1st in minutes Played (18,080) **1st in All-Star appearances (13) **1st in Turnovers (1,393) **2nd in 3-pointers made (1,001) **2nd in 3-point attempts (2,551) **3rd in steals (725) **5th in Field goal attempts (5,778) **6th in Field goals made (3,299) **6th in Field Goals missed (3,233) **7th in Points (6,803)


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;",
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 32° , , 35.0 , , .403 , , .401 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", .911° , , 2.6 , , 6.0 , , 1.7 , , 0.1 , , 3.4 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , 33.4 , , .421 , , .350 , , .884 , , 3.3 , , 6.5 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 3.2 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , 33.4 , , .463 , , .438, , .859 , , 3.1 , , 5.4 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 2.5 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 30 , , 30 , , 34.0 , , .442 , , .437 , , .855 , , 2.4 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 5.9° , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 2.9 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , 31.3 , , .411 , , .366 , , .868 , , 3.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.8 , , 0.1 , , 2.5 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 29 , , 29 , , 31.7 , , .428 , , .338 , , .846 , , 2.0 , , 4.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 2.3 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 33 , , 33 , , 33.7 , , .441 , , .343 , , .871 , , 2.5 , , 5.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.6 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 31 , , 31 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 35.5° , , .408 , , .360 , , .854 , , 2.5 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 5.8° , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 2.6 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 33 , , 33 , , 30.5 , , .434 , , .399 , , .857 , , 2.7 , , 5.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 1.8 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , 33.0 , , .449 , , .428 , , .875 , , 2.9 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 29 , , 29 , , 31.0 , , .459 , , .384 , , .783 , , 2.9 , , 5.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 2.2 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 33 , , 33 , , 29.2 , , .386 , , .345 , , .831 , , 2.2 , , 4.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 2.2 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 27 , , 27 , , 28.6 , , .384 , , .301 , , .796 , , 2.3 , , 5.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 2.4 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 34° , , 31.6 , , .449 , , .444 , , .786 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 5.8° , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 2.5 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 30 , , 30, , 30.0 , , .427 , , .393 , , .774 , , 2.0 , , 6.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 2.0 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 31 , , 31, , 26.5 , , .466 , , .448 , , .828 , , 1.7 , , 7.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.9 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 11 , , 11, , 23.4 , , .494 , , .469 , , .750 , , 1.7 , , 5.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 1.6 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 30 , , 30, , 27.7 , , .431 , , .419 , , .833 , , 2.6 , , 5.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 1.6 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 31 , , 31, , 26.4 , , .403 , , .389 , , 1.000 , , 1.9 , , 6.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 1.9 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 19 years, 1 team , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , 580 , , bgcolor="EOCEF2" , 580 , , 31.2 , , .429 , , .392 , , .853 , , 2.5 , , 5.6 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 2.4 , , 11.7


Postseason

, - , style="text-align:left;",
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 2 , , 2 , , 36.5 , , .409 , , .273 , , 1.000 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 2.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 8 , , 8 , , 29.1 , , .377 , , .300 , , .762 , , 3.2 , , 5.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 34.3 , , .273 , , .133 , , .875 , , 1.7 , , 4.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 35.0 , , .361 , , .333 , , .625 , , 2.7 , , 3.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 2.3 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 2 , , 2 , , 35.5 , , .458 , , .583 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 37.0 , , .460 , , .294 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 36.3 , , .333 , , .417 , , .875 , , 3.7 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.3 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 7 , , 7 , , 37.0 , , .386 , , .333 , , .769 , , 4.1 , , 7.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 2.0 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 33.7 , , .444 , , .500 , , .857 , , 4.0 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.6 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 3 , , 3 , , 35.3 , , .439 , , .500 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , 7.0 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 3.3 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 1 , , 1 , , 34.2 , , .357 , , .333 , , .000 , , 5.0 , , 7.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 1 , , 1 , , 31.0 , , .444 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 8 , , 8 , , 28.4 , , .387 , , .364 , , .750 , , 2.8 , , 6.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 1.3 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 6 , , 6 , , 26.5 , , .392 , , .316 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 9.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 2.3 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 1 , , 1 , , 37.0 , , .417 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 6 , , 6 , , 35.7 , , .431 , , .433 , , 1.000 , , 2.2 , , 7.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 1.0 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 15 years, 1 team , 60 , , 60 , , 32.9 , , .396 , , .365 , , .845 , , 2.7 , , 6.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 1.9 , , 11.7


Awards and honors

WNBA *4× WNBA champion (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) *Commissioners Cup Champion (2021) *12× WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021) *5× All-WNBA First Team (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016) *3× All-WNBA Second Team (2008, 2010, 2011) *3× WNBA assists leader (2005, 2009, 2016) *2× WNBA peak performer (2009, 2016) *All-time Allstar appearances *All-time leader seasons played *All-time Assists leader *All-time leader in Games played *All-time leader in Minutes played *All-time leader Turnovers *WNBA All-Decade Team (2006, Top 10 players from first 10 years) *WNBA Top 15 Players of All Time (2011, Top 15 players from first 15 years) *WNBA Top 20@20 (2016, Top 20 players from first 20 years) *The W25 (2021, Top 25 players from first 25 years) NCAA *2× NCAA National Champion (2000, 2002) *3× Nancy Lieberman Award (2000, 2001, 2002) *
Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...
(2002) *
USBWA Women's National Player of the Year The United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year Award is an award that has been presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association since the 1987–88 season to the top women's college basketball player in NC ...
(2002) *
Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...
(2002) *
Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year The Big East Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year award is given to the women's basketball player in the Big East Conference voted as the top performer by the conference coaches. It was first awarded at the end of the 1982–83 season, ...
(2002) *
Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...
, basketball (2002) USA Basketball *5× Olympic Gold Medalist (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) *4× FIBA World Cup Gold Medalist (2002, 2010, 2014, 2018) *2006 FIBA World Cup Bronze Medalist EuroLeague *5× EuroLeague Champion (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013) *2× EuroLeague All-Star (2008,2011) Media *
Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year The Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1995 to recognize the best women's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American ...
(2002) *2002
ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
- Best Female College Athlete


Personal life

Bird publicly came out as a
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
on July 20, 2017, revealing that she had been dating soccer player
Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger and captains OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), as well as the United States national team. Winner of the Ballon d ...
for several months. In 2018, she and Rapinoe became the first same-sex couple on the cover of ''
ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...
''s "Body Issue". They announced their engagement on October 30, 2020. She was included in the 2022 Queer 50 list.


See also

*
UConn Huskies women's basketball The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They completed a seven-season tenure in the America ...
*
List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games A small fraction of the world's population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction ever competes in multiple Games. 849 athletes (260 women and 589 men) have participated in at least five Olympics from Athens 1896 to Beiji ...
*
List of Connecticut women's basketball players with 1000 points The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They completed a seven-season tenure in the America ...
* List of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball players with 500 assists * List of select Jewish basketball players *
List of WNBA career scoring leaders The following is a list of the players who have scored the most points during their WNBA careers. Scoring leaders All statistics are up to date as of August 17, 2022. Progressive list of scoring leaders This is a progressive list of scoring ...
*
List of WNBA career assists leaders The following is a list of the players who have achieved the most assists during their WNBA careers. Statistics are accurate as of the end of the 2022 regular season. Progressive list of assist leaders This is a progressive list of assist ...
* List of Women's National Basketball Association career steals leaders *
List of Women's National Basketball Association season assists leaders The Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) assists leader is the player with the highest assists per game average in a given season. Ticha Penicheiro has had the most league-leading seasons, with seven. The five highest single-season a ...


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

*
archive
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Sue 1980 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Russia American people of Israeli descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from New York (state) Jewish women's basketball players Lesbian sportswomen LGBT basketball players LGBT Jews LGBT people from New York (state) American LGBT sportspeople Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Syosset, New York Point guards Seattle Storm draft picks Seattle Storm players Syosset High School alumni UConn Huskies women's basketball players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars Women's National Basketball Association first-overall draft picks United States women's national basketball team players