On October 16, 1980 in Syosset, New York, a basketball legend would be born to Herschel and Nancy Bird.
They named her Suzanne Brigit, though today she is better known as Sue Bird. As a child, she looked to her older sister, Jen. Jen played several recreational sports in order to have fun and stay active. Sue followed suit, becoming involved in soccer, tennis, track, and of course, basketball. Sue says that as a child, basketball was by far her favorite sport.
Early Basketball Career
By sixth grade, Bird had such amazing basketball skills that she began playing for Amateur Athletic Union. She continued her basketball career in high school.
She spent her freshman and sophomore years playing for Syosset High School, but the competition there was just not enough for her. As a result, she transferred to Christ the King Regional High School, playing her junior and senior seasons there.
Because of her contributions, Christ the King went undefeated during both of those seasons. During her high school years, she was awarded the New York State Player of the Year award, as well as the New York Daily News Player of the Year award. Further, she was named a WBCA All-American
College
Being such an incredible basketball star, Sue Bird was wanted by many top schools, including Vanderbilt and Stanford. Her favorite pick however, was the University of Connecticut. She resolved to go there until she heard that two other point guards, Brianne Stepherson and Kiersten Walters were also considering UConn.
Bird felt that with two other great point guards on the team, she might not get much playing time. Luckily for her, Stepherson ended up going to Boston College, allowing Bird to make the decision to go to UConn.
Sue had an incredibly unfortunate freshman year of college. Eight games into the season she suffered an ACL injury, barring her from play the rest of the season. Since she played more than 20% of the team’s regular season, she was not allowed to redshirt that year either.
Her sophomore year proved to be a much more prosperous year for Bird. She led the Huskies to 36 wins and only one loss, and helped them to clinch the Big East Conference Championship. The Huskies also won the NCAA Championship due to Bird’s immense efforts as point guard.
Bird’s junior and senior years were a glorious continuation of her performance from her sophomore year. In her senior year, she led the nation in free throw shooting. During her career, she became one of only two UConn players to score over 1000 points, make 500 assists and 200 steals.
Into the WNBA
In 2002, immediately following her senior year of college, bird was selected by the Storm in the first round of the WNBA draft. Over her nine years as a member of the Storm, she has averaged 12.4 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game.
In 2009, she averaged 12.8 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game and was twice named the WNBA Western Conference Player of the week.