After 20 years at the helm of the Seattle Storm, some trips overseas, a heavily-decorated college stint at Connecticut and an 11-year-old's dream that was inspired by the athleticism of her older sister, the legendary Sue Bird has thrown in the towel.
The 2023 season will be the first season without Bird in the green and yellow since 2002, when she was drafted No. 1 overall from Geno Auriemma's national championship Husky team that held a perfect 39-0 record.
Bird will forever be known as one of the greats. One of the greatest that the game of basketball and its fans have seen. One of the greatest point guards, of the greatest leaders and of the greatest winners.
A legendary career 🐐 @S10Bird pic.twitter.com/vRBM5e51lS
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 7, 2022
Her name will continue to be spoken in the same sentence as her male counterparts like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Steph Curry years after they've gone, and others have risen to the challenge.
Let's take a look at where Bird is now, and the legacy she's leaving behind in the W.
Did Sue Bird retire?
Bird made the decision to retire in June 2022, and followed through to the end of the season. Her last game was Game 4 of the Storm's playoff series versus the eventual champions, the Las Vegas Aces. Seattle was ultimately eliminated.
Sure, it wasn't the ending she'd hoped for. No one wants to lose their last appearance in the game they love. But, as she told ESPN at the time, it was still filled with happiness. It was bittersweet.
"I'm proud of everything we've accomplished here," Bird said, according to ESPN. Of course I'm sad, but there's happiness too, to be able to have a moment like that with the fans, to have them chant the way they did. I know the tears don't look like happy tears, but there's a lot of happiness."
No one will remember the score, how the Storm lost to the Aces 97-92. They'll remember the chants, the 'Thank you, Sue!' ones echoing around the arena. They'll remember her, and her legacy, what she did for Seattle while she wore their jersey and what she'll continue to do for the city's sports scene, even as a retiree.
"THANK YOU SUE!"
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 7, 2022
Sue Bird's final sendoff ❤️ pic.twitter.com/y9HMg8jnjJ
Where is Sue Bird now?
Bird is enjoying the newly retired life, as anyone should be after a career of her caliber.
"It's been great," Bird had told Insider. "Really enjoyable kinda doing what I wanna do when I wanna do it." She also told them she's been really trying to do nothing and just chill. Apparently, she's loving it.
The same can't be said for her just as legendary fiancée, Megan Rapinoe.
Rapinoe is preparing for her 10th season with the NWSL's OL Reign in Seattle while Bird rests and relaxes. Insider noted that in early March, Bird was actually in Hawaii... the jealousy was present in the soccer star.
Sue Bird WNBA career stats, legacy left behind
Her trophy case is full to the brim, with four WNBA championships, five Olympic gold medals, a Commissioner's Cup, five Russian national league titles, five Euro League titles, two Europe Supercup titles, two NCAA titles, high school state and national titles, three Nancy Lieberman Awards, a Naismith Award and an AP National Player of the Year name-tag.
She's the all-time leader in several WNBA categories, including:
- Most seasons played: 20
- Games played: 580
- Assists: 3,234
- Minutes played: 18,080
- All-Star appearances: 13
- Turnovers: 1,393
And ranked in the top 10 in several other categories, including:
- Three-pointers made: 1,001 2nd
- Three-point attempts: 2,551 2nd
- Steals: 725 3rd
- Field goal attempts: 5,778 5th
- Field goals made: 3,299 6th
- Points: 6,803 7th
Here are her regular season career stats after 20 years in Seattle:
| PTS | FG% | 3F% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | |
| Career | 11.7 | 0.429 | 0.393 | 0.853 | 2.5 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
And here are her playoff career stats with the Storm:
| PTS | FG% | 3F% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | |
| Career | 11.7 | 0.429 | 0.393 | 0.853 | 2.5 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
