Sue Bird may be the greatest winner in the history of basketball, possibly surpassing even the legendary Bill Russell. In high school, she played for Christ the King in Queens, New York, and led them to the New York state title and a national title. A point guard, she played college basketball at the University of Connecticut, where she led her team to three straight Big East Conference titles (2000-02) and NCAA titles in 2000 and 2002. In the WNBA she played for almost 20 years with the Seattle Storm, leading them to WNBA titles in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020.
Bird played for the US women’s national team almost from the day she left college. She helped the USA win World Championships in 2002, 2010, 2014, and 2018, and won four consecutive Olympic gold medals, in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. Playing in Russia between WNBA seasons, she was with Dynamo Moskva from 2004-06, Spartak Moskva from 2006-11, and UMMC Ekaterinburg from 2011-14. During those years she led her teams to five Russian League titles in 2007-08 and 2012-14, four consecutive EuroLeague titles in 2007-10, and the European SuperCup in 2009 and 2010. Her other victories include the 2000 Jones Cup, the 2002 World Challenge, the 2007 FIBA Americas, 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball, and the 2009 Ekaterinburg Invitational.
Sue Bird has also earned a plethora of individual honors. At Connecticut, in her senior year, she won the Wade Trophy, Honda Sports Award and Naismith Award, designating the women’s college player of the year. She also won the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard in 2000, 2001, and 2002. In the WNBA she was an 11-time All-Star (2002-03, 2005–2007, 2009, 2011, 2014-15, 2017-18), a first-team All-WNBA five times (2002-05, 2016), led the WNBA in assists in 2005, 2009, and 2016, and is the WNBA all-time leader in assists. Bird has had a long relationship with US women’s national soccer (football) team player Megan Rapinoe.
United States