1. Sue Bird was drafted first overall pick by the Storm in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history.
60 Facts About Sue Bird
1. 2.
Sue Bird held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate.
3.
Sue Bird has played for three teams in the Russian league and holds dual citizenship with both US and Israel.
4.
In high school, Sue Bird was the New York State Player of the Year, the New York Daily News Player of the Year, and a WBCA All-American.
5.
Sue Bird finished her University of Connecticut career ranked first in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, and second in assists and steals.
6.
Sue Bird won the Nancy Lieberman Award three times as the top point guard in the nation.
7.
Sue Bird has won a joint-record four WNBA championships with the Storm, a historic five Olympic gold medals, two NCAA Championships with UConn ; and four FIBA World Cups.
8.
Sue Bird is one of only 11 women to attain all four accolades.
9.
Sue Bird is a five-time EuroLeague Women champion.
10.
Sue Bird publicly confirmed on June 16,2022, that she would retire from playing professional basketball after the 2022 WNBA season.
11.
Sue Bird's season ended on September 7,2022, with the Storm's playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces.
12.
Sue Bird was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on April 5,2025.
13.
Sue Bird was born in Syosset, New York, on Long Island, to Herschel and Nancy Sue Bird.
14.
Sue Bird has one sibling, an older sister named Jen.
15.
Sue Bird was interested in sports from an early age, partly influenced by her athletic older sister.
16.
Sue Bird started playing Amateur Athletic Union basketball in the sixth grade.
17.
Sue Bird played her freshman and sophomore years at Syosset High School, but wanted more competition.
18.
Sue Bird spent two seasons at Christ the King, where she competed on their Lady Royals basketball team.
19.
Sue Bird won many awards, including the New York State Player of the Year and the New York Daily News Player of the Year.
20.
Sue Bird participated in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School All-America Game, scoring 11 points.
21.
Sue Bird was recruited by several university teams, including UConn, Stanford, and Vanderbilt.
22.
Sue Bird leaned towards selecting the UConn Huskies, but hesitated when two point guards announced their commitments to the team.
23.
Eight games into her freshman season, Sue Bird suffered a torn ACL.
24.
Sue Bird finished her UConn career on many of the record lists.
25.
Sue Bird ranked number 1 in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
26.
Sue Bird won two National Championships, three Big East Championships, and Big East regular season titles.
27.
Sue Bird was the first winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2000, given to the top point guard in the nation, and won it again in 2001 and 2002.
28.
Sue Bird was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.
29.
Sue Bird was selected as a starter on the 2002 WNBA Western Conference All-Star team.
30.
Sue 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.
31.
On February 16,2016, Sue Bird re-signed with the Storm to a multi-year deal in free agency.
32.
Sue Bird 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.
33.
Sue Bird was listed in the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.
34.
Sue Bird was voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her 10th all-star game appearance.
35.
Sue Bird finished the game with 19 points and a season-high 13 assists.
36.
On July 19,2018, Sue Bird was voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, passing Tamika Catchings for most all-star appearances.
37.
On July 22,2018, Sue Bird broke yet another record, this time for the most WNBA regular-season games played after she passed Delisha Milton-Jones by playing her 500th game against the Atlanta Dream.
38.
Consequently, Sue Bird's presidency is credited with the WNBA allowing the players to express social justice messages, for example, on jerseys, basketball courts, and immediate floors.
39.
In May 2019, Sue Bird needed arthroscopic surgery on her left knee and could not play in either of the Storm's preseason games.
40.
Sue Bird underwent surgery on May 30, missing the remainder of the 2019 season as she recovered.
41.
In 2020, Sue Bird returned to play, limited to playing 11 games in the regular season.
42.
Sue Bird had reaggravated her knee during the season, causing her to miss five games.
43.
In 2021, Sue 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.
44.
Sue Bird was honored in The W25 list, the WNBA's official list recognizing "the 25 greatest and most influential players in WNBA history", selected to commemorate the league's 25th season.
45.
On June 16,2022, Sue Bird announced that she would be retiring following the 2022 WNBA season.
46.
Sue Bird would keep playing with the team for the next four WNBA off-seasons.
47.
From 2011 to 2014, Sue Bird played three off-seasons for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian League, adding three more consecutive championships in the Russian league.
48.
Sue Bird has competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 2000 Jones Cup Team in Taipei, Taiwan.
49.
Sue Bird started all four games, leading the team with 17 assists and helping them to the gold medal.
50.
In 2002, Sue Bird was named to the national team which competed in the World Championships in Zhangjiagang, Changzhou, and Nanjing, China.
51.
In 2006, Sue Bird was invited back to the National team for the World Championships held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in September 2006.
52.
Sue Bird started all eight games and tied with teammate Tamika Catchings with 14 steals, both ranking seventh in the tournament's top 10 for steals.
53.
Sue Bird was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp for the 2010 World Championship in the fall of 2009.
54.
On July 10,2010, Sue Bird competed with the National team in the WNBA-sponsored All-Star game, which pitted the USA National team against the "best-of-the-best" WNBA All-Stars.
55.
Sue Bird averaged 5.6 points per game and led the team in assists with 26.
56.
Sue Bird competed for the US in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
57.
Sue Bird competed for Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympics, helping the team win its sixth straight gold medal.
58.
On July 23,2021, in the lead-up to her quest for her fifth gold medal, Sue Bird carried the US flag at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
59.
Sue Bird publicly came out as a lesbian on July 20,2017, revealing that she had been dating soccer player Megan Rapinoe for several months after the two met at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
60.
Sue Bird joined the ownership group of the Seattle Storm, Force 10 Hoops, in 2024.