Sue Bird knows a thing or two about great WNBA players, calling out Brittney Griner as a singular WNBA talent.
“She’s the most dominant player in our league,” Bird said of Griner in a recent interview with Just Women’s Sports. “You can argue MVPs and you can argue GOATs and Best Ever and all that kind of stuff. She is by far the most dominant player.”
Bird most recently faced Griner in a single-elimination playoff game between Bird’s Seattle Storm and Griner’s Phoenix Mercury in September. The Mercury center led the way with 23 points and 16 rebounds to bounce Seattle from the postseason. Griner would end up leading the Mercury all the way to the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Sky in four games.
“When you play against Phoenix, the entire game plan has to be about what you’re doing against BG,” Bird said.
Griner finished the season averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and was in the running for the WNBA MVP award.
“I think the best part is, she doesn’t take crap from anybody on the court, but she’s such a good person and such a good teammate,” Bird said. “When you’re competing against her, you know you can’t mess with BG. BG will let you know. She’ll let you have it. But as a teammate, she’s the sweetest. She just wants to do whatever the team needs.”
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) October 18, 2021
Bird and Griner may be adversaries during the WNBA season, but they have played together on the 2016 and 2020 Olympic teams. Griner contributed 30 points, five rebounds and three blocks in Team USA’s gold-medal win over Japan this past summer in Tokyo.
While Bird has yet to confirm whether she will return to the Storm next year, WNBA fans are clamoring for Bird to play one final season in what will be Griner’s 10th league campaign.