Right next to the Space Needle and across from Climate Pledge Arena, you will find Sue Bird Court, the street named after one of the most prominent figures in Seattle athletics. Bird is considered one of the greatest contributors to women’s basketball, and with good reason.
Bird transferred to Christ the King Regional High School in Queens, New York, in her junior year of high school. When she was a high school senior, she led the team to the New York State title, as well as a national title, all while keeping an undefeated run. She even won the Miss New York Basketball title in 1998, defining her as one of the best high school basketball players.
Bird was recruited by many college teams, but ultimately decided to play for the University of Connecticut as a point guard.
Unfortunately, she tore her ACL eight games into her freshman season. She spoke about this in a 2025 episode of A Touch More, on March 27, giving Juju Watkins, a player for the University of Southern California, some advice. She said, “Yes, it’s a difficult rehab . . . I know when I tore my ACL, it changed my life, it changed my career, it changed my trajectory.”
Although the path to recovery was quite difficult for her, as it is for many players, she was back on the court during her sophomore season, leading her team to the NCAA D1 Women’s Basketball Championship.
Despite the team losing to Notre Dame, they won the following year, with Bird also winning the Honda Sports Award, Wade Trophy and the Naismith Award— honors given to only the top college basketball players.
After spending her collegiate career playing for UConn, Bird was selected first in the 2002 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She played for the Seattle Storm for nearly 20 years, from 2002 to 2022, leading the team to WNBA championship wins in 2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020.
Not only did she lead the Storm to many victories, but she also made quite a name for herself. She has the most assists in WNBA history, with a total of 3,234, as well as holding the record for most games started. Never coming in off the bench, Bird started in 580 games, solidifying her as a committed player.
On June 16, 2022, Bird posted on her social media that she would be playing her last game with the Storm, announcing her decision to retire. In a press conference later that day, she stated, “I’ve really deep down known for a while now”, in regards to her retirement.
Bird’s last game for the WNBA was against the Las Vegas Aces, where the Storm lost 97-92. Jewel Loyd, Bird’s teammate, spoke to ESPN: “It’s obviously not how we wanted to finish for her. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is”.
Although the game ended with a loss, Sue Bird is seen as one of the biggest winners in basketball, especially in Seattle. Her jersey number was retired in 2023 in the rafters at Climate Pledge Arena, in front of many basketball friends and, of course, Seattle Storm fans.
Not only is the number “10” of her jersey high in the rafters, but Bird herself is often seen at courtside during Seattle Storm games, even after retiring. She joined the Seattle Storm ownership group in 2024, passionate about investing in women’s sports. And just a couple of months ago, in August, a bronze statue of Bird was unveiled right outside of Climate Pledge Arena, representing the legacy she has left, and continues to create, in Seattle.
