Everything about Sue Bird totally explained
Suzanne Brigit Bird (born
October 16,
1980) is a professional
women's basketball player. A high school star from
Christ The King RHS, she went on to become a key part of two national champion
University of Connecticut teams, the first player to be picked in the
2002 WNBA Draft and an Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays for the
WNBA's
Seattle Storm, with whom she won a championship in
2004.
Bird was born in
Syosset, New York. Her father, Herschel Bird, is of
Russian
Jewish descent and her mother is Nancy Bird. Her older sister, Jennifer, was a fine High School-level basketball player.
University of Connecticut
Bird gained renown while playing as the starting
point guard for the
University of Connecticut women's basketball team from
1998 to
2002, and led them to
NCAA titles in
2000 and
2002. While playing for the Huskies, Bird was feared most as a
three-point shooter, and also at the
free throw line, where she averaged over 90% of her free throws in her sophomore and senior seasons. At the conclusion of her college career, she was named the
Naismith Award winner and College Player of the Year in 2002. She started in every game in which she appeared, and the team went 114-4 during that time.
WNBA
Bird was named the first pick in the 2002
WNBA Draft to the
Seattle Storm and was also the first
point guard to be drafted first in the league's history. In her rookie season, she led the Storm to their first playoff appearance, and was also named a starter to the WNBA Western Conference All-Star team, and was a member of the All-WNBA First team at the conclusion of the 2002 season. She was second in the team in scoring (14.4 ppg), led in assists (6 apg), steals (1.6 spg), and in three point shots (57). She and teammate
Lauren Jackson form one of the league's most electric one-two punches, drawing frequent comparisons to the
Utah Jazz's
John Stockton and
Karl Malone. Bird is second all-time in WNBA history in assists per game (5.6), trailing only
Ticha Penicheiro.
The Storm had a strong
2004 season that led them to the playoffs. In the 2004 WNBA playoffs, Sue Bird averaged 8.5 points and 5.3 assists and overcame a broken nose in the conference finals series to help the Storm win their first ever
WNBA Championship. Seattle defeated Eastern Conference champion Connecticut two games to one (the Finals were expanded to a 5-game series the following season).
Since the 2004 championship, the Storm has had disappointing losses in the first round of the Western Conference finals in three straight seasons. In 2005, the Storm opened with a win over the Houston Comets, but then lost consecutive games and were bounced out of the postseason. Bird averaged 12.1 points per game and led the WNBA in assists per game with 5.9 in 2005.
The following season, 2006, the Storm again won their opening playoff game, 84-72, over the Los Angeles Sparks before dropping two straight and being eliminated. In 2007, Bird missed five games due to arthroscopic knee surgery, but the Storm made the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the West. In the first round the Storm was swept in two games by No. 1 seed Phoenix, led by Bird's good friend and former teammate
Diana Taurasi.
Sue Bird is one of six women to receive a Gold Medal, an NCAA championship, and a WNBA Championship. The others are
Ruth Riley,
Sheryl Swoopes, and fellow Huskies
Swin Cash,
Kara Wolters, and
Diana Taurasi.
International career
In the 2003-2004 off-season, Bird was named to the
United States 2004 Women's Olympic Basketball Team's core roster. She was the youngest player on the core roster of nine players.
In the 2004-2005 WNBA off-season, she played in
Russia, with Storm teammate
Kamila Vodichkova on the
Dynamo Moscow. In the 2005-2006 WNBA off-season, she played on the same team, reaching the Russian championship and the Euroleague women’s playoffs.
In the 2006-2007 WNBA off-season, she joined Jackson and fellow UConn star
Diana Taurasi on the Russian team
Spartak Moscow to win the Russian Super League championship and the
EuroLeague Women.
Europe
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sue Bird'.
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