Sue Bird

Sue Bird

Sue Bird (middle) is welcomed to Washington, D.C. in 2002 by Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd
Position	Guard
Height	ft  in ( m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Team	Seattle Storm
Nationality	United States
Born	October 16 1980 (1980--) (age 27) Syosset, New York
College	University of Connecticut
Draft	1st overall, 2002 Seattle Storm
Pro career	2002 – present
Awards	All-WNBA First Team (2002-2005) Four-time WNBA All-Star

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. The original family name was “Boorda”.[1]. Bird acquired Israeli nationality in 2006.

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 picked 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.

In the 2003 season, Bird suffered a minor knee injury that kept nagging her the entire season, but she still led the team in assists (6.5 per game), steals (1.4 per game), and three point shots (49 total). She was once again named as a starter to the All-Star Team and was named to the All-WNBA First Team for the second time. The Seattle Storm, however did not make the playoffs.

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. The Storm was swept in two games by No. 1 seed Phoenix, led by Bird's good friend and former teammate Diana Taurasi, in the first round.

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.

Europe

• 2004-2006 : ŽBK Dynamo Moscou
• 2006-2007 : Spartak Moscow Region

External links

• U.S. Olympic Team bio
• WNBA.com profile

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