Sue Bird made it official on Thursday: the Seattle Storm guard plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2022 WNBA season.
“I’ve decided this will be my final year,” Bird, 41, wrote on Twitter. “I have loved every single minute, and still do, so gonna play my last year, just like this little girl played her first.”
I’ve decided this will be my final year. I have loved every single minute, and still do, so gonna play my last year, just like this little girl played her first ☺️ #TheFinalYear @seattlestorm pic.twitter.com/Uo2YqCCKUD
— Sue Bird (@S10Bird) June 16, 2022
After the Storm lost to the Phoenix Mercury in round two of the 2021 WNBA Playoffs, Bird said she wasn’t sure if she had just played her last basketball game. “This is the first off-season where I feel like I need to weigh [the decision],” Bird said in September.
When the four-time WNBA champ decided to re-sign with the Storm for 2022, she noted that fans chanting ‘One more year!’ had helped sway her decision.
Bird, who won two NCAA basketball titles at UConn, was drafted by the Seattle Storm as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft. She has played her entire two-decade WNBA career with the franchise, though she missed both the 2014 and 2019 seasons with injury.
A few key stats about Sue Bird’s basketball career:
- First basketball player (along with former UConn teammate Diana Taurasi) to win five Olympic gold medals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
- Four-time WNBA champion (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020)
- Two-time NCAA champion (2000, 2002)
- WNBA all-time assists leader (3,114 as of June 16, 2022, 514 more than any other WNBA player)
- Only WNBA player to play in at least 500 games (currently at 559). She has also started every WNBA game she has ever played.
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