Suzanne Brigit Bird is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm and the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA). Sue Bird was selected first overall by the Storm in the 2002 WNBA draft and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the league's history. She has been a part of three different WNBA championship teams with the Seattle Storm.
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Background
Bird was born to Herschel and Nancy Bird in Syosset, Nassau County, New York, on Long Island on October 16, 1980. She has one sibling, Jen, who is her older sister. Her father's ancestors are Russian-Jewish, and their last name was originally "Boorda."She has also been an Israeli citizen since 2006, due to her Jewish father and paternal grandparents, although she competes for her native country, the United States, in international competition.
Bird's interest in sports began at a young age, driven in part by her athletic older sister. She also played soccer, tennis, and track in addition to basketball.
Bird began playing basketball in the Amateur Athletic Union when she was in sixth grade. She played during halftime of a St. John's basketball game when she was only 11 years old, and her performance was so outstanding that a security guard asked for her autograph.
Bird attended Syosset High School for her freshman and sophomore years, but she desired more competition. As a result, she enrolled at Queens' Christ the King Regional High School. Bird played two seasons at Christ the King, and her junior year, the Royals went 24–3. Her squad was unbeaten in the second season, winning the New York state and national championships. Bird was named New York State Player of the Year and New York Daily News Player of the Year, among other honors. The WBCA awarded bird an All-American. She scored 11 points in the High School All-America Game for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Career
During the 2002 WNBA draft, the Seattle Storm selected Sue Bird as their first overall pick. She played in 32 games in her debut season, starting all of them, and averaging 14.4 points per game. The Seattle Storm made it to the playoffs that year, but the Los Angeles Sparks were upset in the Conference Semi-Finals. Bird scored 14 points each game in both of the Storm's matchups versus the Sparks.
In 2004, she earned her first WNBA championship with the Storm. She appeared in 34 games during the regular season, starting all of them and averaging 12.9 points per game. She started all eight games for the Storm in the playoffs, averaging 8.5 points per game.
She was a part of two more championship-winning Seattle Storm teams in the WNBA (2010 and 2018). Bird has been selected a WNBA All-Star 11 times (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018), WNBA Assists Leader three times (2005, 2009, and 2016), and WNBA Peak Performer twice (2009 and 2016) during her career. She is also the WNBA's all-time assists leader.
Sue Bird had left-knee surgery in the opening week of the 2019 season and will be out for the foreseeable future. Sue Bird has also played for the Russian team's Dynamo Moscow (2004-06), Spartak Moscow Region (2006-11), and UMMC Ekaterinburg, in addition to the Seattle Storm (2011-14).
She has won five times in the Russian National League (2007, 2008, 2012–2014), five times in the EuroLeague (2007–2010, 2013), and twice in the Europe SuperCup (2009 and 2010).
Personal life
On July 20, 2017, Bird came out as a lesbian, revealing that she had been seeing soccer player Megan Rapinoe for several months. She and Rapinoe made history as the first same-gender couple to grace the cover of ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue" in 2018. On October 30, 2020, they announced their engagement.
Last Modified: Aug 11, 2021
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