Sue Bird ends her WNBA career as the winningest player in WNBA history, with 336 wins.
Bird surpassed Lindsey Whalen to claim the record on June 29, when the Seattle Storm’s 88-78 win against the Las Vegas Aces gave her 324 victories.
“That’s amazing,” said Storm coach Noelle Quinn when Bird broke the record. “She would probably say it’s because she’s old. That’s always the response. Just the longevity of an amazing player to have such an impact on the game.”
Bird ended her career Tuesday with a loss to the Aces in the WNBA semifinals, but the legacy of the four-time WNBA champion, 13-time All-Star and five-time Olympic gold medalist will continue to reverberate throughout the league.
In honor of the Storm legend, Just Women’s Sports highlights some of the greatest wins from her illustrious career.
On Sept. 5, 2010, Bird put up one of the most clutch shots she’s sunk to date: a game-winning shot to clinch a WNBA Finals berth for the Storm.
At one point in the game, the Phoenix Mercury led by as many as 19 points. But in the fourth quarter, the lead was down to 12. From there, a 15-0 run led Seattle to the Finals over Phoenix.
With 2.8 seconds left in the game, Bird nailed a 24-footer to secure the win. Seattle went on to win the championship, Bird’s second with the team.
The favorites to win the 2018 WNBA title, Seattle was in a do-or-die Game 5 in the semifinals against Phoenix. Down 63-59 heading into the fourth quarter, Bird came to life and helped lead the team to the win.
Starting with a 3-pointer with 5:48 remaining, Bird scored 14 of her 22 points for the game in the final stretch. She made five of six shots in the final six minutes.
“Who has a career defining moment at 37?” Bird told ESPN in 2020. “Fifty years from now, that’ll be the biggest, best moment of my career.”
The Storm swept the Mystics in the WNBA Finals to claim Bird’s third career title.
Bird’s most recent WNBA title came in 2020, when the Storm bested the Las Vegas Aces for the crown. But it was in the team’s Game 1 win where Bird really stood out, setting the WNBA record for assists in a playoff game.
While the previous high was 12, Bird managed to break that record in the third quarter before going on to reach 16 assists.
That record would be broken one year later by Courtney Vandersloot during the Sky’s championship run.