Sue Birds always been known as the consummate floor leader and ball distributor. Thats who she is by nature, since her days as a star player for the legendary girls team at Christ The King HS in Queens, New York.
A resilient team player with superstar abilities, Bird rebounded from a broken nose suffered in Game 4 to finally snatch the spotlight from Diana Taurasi with a career-defining fourth quarter performance that led Seattle to a 94-84 Game 5 win over the Phoenix Mercury and onto the 2018 WNBA Finals. Seattle will meet the Washington Mystics, who rode Elena Delle Donnes playoff record fifth double double-double to a Game 5 win over the Atlanta Dream.
Bird executed a five-minute flurry that will live on in WNBA lore. She scored 14 of her 22 points in the final quarter and Seattle finally shook its longtime rivals and handed the immortal Taurasi her first career loss in a winner-take-all game after 13 wins.
SportsCenter on Twitter
Sue Bird is the oldest player in the @WNBA. That didn’t stop her from dropping FOURTEEN in the final 5:48 to send Seattle to the Finals https://t.co/jCqw1cyDsB
Bird, a member of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time (2011) and Top 20@20 (2016), is a point guard capable of taking over the scoreboard, but built on grit, energy, intelligence and system execution. Bird hit the league with much fanfare after establishing herself as a college superstar with the UConn Huskies and has accumulated an all-time WNBA record 2,831 dimes to go along with her two championships in 2004 and 2010.
Shes often slighted when being compared to her fellow UConn alum and longtime WNBA rival Diana Taurasi,the WNBAs all-time leading scorer. Taurasi is often called The GOAT and her penchant for scoring makes her more attractive to the average fan than Bird, sort of like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan comparisons.
Birds never averaged more than 14.7 points per game in her 16-year career, but similar to Magic, thats by choice. Bird possesses a unique unselfishness and patience that steers her game in the direction of the win and allows her to orchestrate symphonies in which shes the center of the heart but pumps blood through her teammates. Her impact on third-year superstar Breanna Stewart has been evident. Seattle Stew won the 2018 WNBA MVP award and averaged 21.8 points per game and 8.4 rebounds, but every now and then Bird likes to reminds fools that her bucket game is true to the game.
Bleacher Report on Twitter
Sue Bird’s jumper is timeless (via @WNBA) https://t.co/cohmjpEyEe
In 2004, Bird fed Betty Lennox to victory over the Connecticut Sun in the chip. In 2011, Bird rode the back of Australian superstar Lauren Jackson to another title. In both instances, Bird was probably the teams most valuable player, but she took a backseat in scoring responsibility and accolades for the good of the team.
The oldest player in the WNBA at age 37, Bird continues to add to her illustrious, Hall of Fame career.
Happy Birthday Sue Bird
Sue Bird, the WNBA’s All-time assists leader, is one of the league’s Mount Rushmore talents. The Peter Pan of women’s basketball turns 37 years old today. While most athletes are long retired, 2018 will be Bird’s 16th WNBA season. On her 37th birthday, look back at @S10Bird’s unforgettable, record-tying 10th #WNBAAllStar in Seattle this past July!
The ultimate facilitator. The epitome of unselfishness. Feisty but humble. Words that are lost in this age of max money ballers and franchise players, but ring loudly when the greatest point guard in WNBA history takes the hardwood.
