The Seattle Storm will retire Sue Bird’s No. 10 jersey on Sunday, June 11, during a game against the Washington Mystics, the team announced Thursday.

Bird, who retired at the end of last season, played 19 seasons with the Storm after they drafted her out of UConn in 2002.

Bird finished her career as the all-time league leaded in assists. Her total of 3,234 beats the next closest player, Ticha Penicheiro, by more than 600.

Her impact on the Seattle franchise was immense. She was drafted two years after the Storm came into existence, and she assisted on 27.5% of the baskets scored in franchise history. She also won four WNBA championships with the team.

Bird is the only player in WNBA history to play in at least 500 games, finishing her career with 580, all of which were starts. 

The point guard is the second Storm player to have her number retired. Her former teammate Lauren Jackson saw her jersey raised to the rafters of Climate Pledge Arena  last season.

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.

The knockout punch for a Finals berth

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.

A dazzling fourth quarter for a Game 5 win

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.

The assists record en route to the 2020 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.

Jewell Loyd has set a precedent against the Mystics.

She’s been dominant in each of the Storm’s three regular-season meetings with Washington this year, scoring 22 points in their final matchup on 6-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line.

But in Thursday’s first-round playoff game, Washington seemed to have her figured out.

With Seattle down five points with 4:52 to play, Loyd had yet to make a field goal. The guard had four points, making two free throws in the first quarter and two more in the third, but her usual scoring acumen was absent.

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Loyd matched up against Washington's Natasha Cloud for most of the game Thursday night. (Joshua Huston/NBAE via Getty Images)

Lest people forget Loyd’s experience level, the guard reminded the public and her teammates of it after the Storm’s 86-83 win over the Mystics in Game 1 of the first round

“(I’ve grown),” she said. “I’ve been in the league eight years, so if I haven’t grown that would be a problem.”

As Loyd, 28, finished her sentence, teammate Gabby Williams blurted out, “Oh my god. You’re so old!”

“I’m old, man,” Loyd responded with a smile. “I’m a vet.”

And a vet doesn’t let missed shots keep them down, especially not with the game on the line.

“As a rookie, you get frustrated when you’re not making shots,” she said. “You’re used to things being smooth, but when you’ve been in the league for a while, you understand the flow of the game, you understand who you are, your teammates, time, score, all those things.”

Loyd kept battling on Thursday night. She kept looking for her shot, and with less than five minutes left in a tight contest, she broke through for her first field goal, knocking down a step-back 3-pointer that cut the Mystics’ lead to 77-75.

From there, it was all Loyd. She added 10 more points down the stretch, and until Breanna Stewart hit two free throws with 14.6 seconds left, Loyd had scored all of her team’s points in the last five minutes of play.

Natasha Cloud, who spent most of the game matched up against Loyd, said the guard didn’t change anything about her game. She just stayed the course.

“Just a great player getting hot,” Cloud said. “She made tough shots down the stretch, and we knew they were going to go to her. And that’s just on me. I promise you I’m gonna be better next game.”

Loyd’s heroic run culminated with the go-ahead bucket with 38 seconds left on the clock.

As she dribbled toward the 3-point arc, she refused a screen from Stewart and continued on her line to the basket. Then, with Cloud on her right hip, Loyd took off on one-foot near the free-throw line. She used her athleticism to make a minor adjustment in the air and then fired a jumper.

It gave the Storm a one-point lead and resulted in a Washington timeout. Despite Elena Delle Donne’s 15 second-half points, and 26 overall, the Mystics came up short on their next possession and Seattle closed out the win on two Stewart free throws.

“I just stayed patient,”Lloyd said. “The second half came around and my teammates kept encouraging me, they threw it to me, and I was able to get to my spots.”

Storm coach Noelle Quinn has a unique perspective on Loyd’s game. Before joining the coaching staff in 2019, and eventually taking over as head coach last year, Quinn was Loyd’s teammate in Seattle.

Quinn says there were moments early in Loyd’s career when she started games slow and didn’t end up making the breakthrough. Since the Storm drafted her first overall in 2015, Loyd has won two WNBA championships, made four All-Star teams and earned many individual honors. Against the Mystics on Thursday, she showed that, even when things aren’t going her way in the beginning, her experience will carry her through.

“She pushed through today in a big way, in a major way,” Quinn said. “It wasn’t how she started, but how she finished. Those were big buckets down the stretch.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Breanna Stewart is joining the short list of WNBA stars with signature sneakers, with the Stewie 1 Quiet Fire set to be released in September by Puma.

Puma and the Seattle Storm released photos of the shoe Friday.

The Stewie 1 will make Stewart just the 10th WNBA player with a signature shoe, and the first in a decade. Before this year, the most recent signature shoe for a WNBA player was Candace Parker’s Adidas TS Ace Commander in 2010.

“One of the biggest selling points was Puma is going to obviously continue to invest in women, invest in women’s basketball, try and not only level the playing field between men and women’s basketball, but make it better,” the two-time WNBA champion told Reuters.

Stewart’s won’t be the only WNBA shoe to hit the market in the fall. Elena Delle Donne recently revealed her first signature shoe with NIke, the DELDON 1, which is expected to be available for purchase in October.

Stewart is set to appear in her fourth All-Star game this weekend. The Seattle Storm star leads the WNBA with an average of 21.0 points per game.

The Seattle Storm were “in a silly goofy mood” Friday night, according to Gabby Williams. The team looked loose in their 73-57 win Friday over the Indiana Fever.

One play in particular caught fans’ attention, as Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Williams deployed a fast break that resembled volleyball more than basketball — or perhaps a play from the Harlem Globetrotters.

“That was for Sue,” Stewart tweeted in response to the delightful play.

Bird replied to Stewart with a melting smiley face emoji, perhaps a sarcastic stamp of approval from the star in her final season.

Stewart led all scorers with 20 points, adding six rebounds and three assists, while Williams added 10 points, four rebounds and one assist for the Storm.

Friday’s win improves Seattle to 13-7 on the season ahead of the team’s Sunday matchup against the Atlanta Dream.

Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles has signed a rest-of-season contract with the Seattle Storm, the team announced Tuesday. The Storm did not reveal the terms of the contract.

Charles will be available for the Storm’s game Wednesday game against the league-leading Las Vegas Aces.

“We are excited to add one of the premier players in our league to our roster,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said in a statement. “Tina is a prolific scorer who brings veteran experience and adds depth to our front court. We look forward to seeing the immediate impact she can make for our team.”

The star center mutually parted ways with the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday in what the Mercury described as a “contract divorce.” She signed a one-year contract with Phoenix in February and averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 16 appearances with the team.

Multiple reports linked Charles to the Storm over the weekend. The Ball Out was the first to report the news of the center’s intended new destination. Rachel Galligan broke the news of the signing Tuesday for Winsidr.

The eight-time WNBA All-Star spent the 2021 season with the Washington Mystics and led the WNBA with 23.4 points per game. The No. 1 draft pick in 2010, she won her MVP award with the Connecticut Sun in 2012. She played with the New York Liberty from 2014-19 but didn’t play the 2020 COVID-19 bubble season.

The 33-year-old adds a post presence for Seattle, which already boasts offensive firepower from Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird. Charles ranks sixth in league history with 6,889 career points and is just seven points away from fifth place.

The Storm sit in second place in the Western Conference with an 11-7 record, while the Mercury are in fourth place with an 8-12 record.

The WNBA returns with a full slate of competition, and viewers treated to games every day this week.

Just Women’s Sports has three storylines to watch as the action continues.

Will Tina Charles suit up for Seattle?

The Phoenix Mercury and Tina Charles shocked the league when the team announced Saturday it had agreed to a contract divorce with the star center. Charles signed a one-year deal with the Mercury in February, appearing in 16 games with the team during the 2022 regular season.

“After discussions with Tina and her agent, it was best for both parties to go our separate ways at this time,” Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said in a news release. “Due to circumstances both in and out of our control, our season has not gone according to plan, and we will continue to pursue all avenues of improvement.”

According to multiple reports, Charles is set to join the Seattle Storm, though the team has yet to comment on the rumors.

If Charles clears waivers and signs with Seattle in time for their midweek matchup against league-leading Las Vegas, she could appear for the Storm as early as Wednesday. It’s unlikely that any team has the cap space to take on Charles’ pre-divorce contract, so once she clears waivers, she will become an unrestricted free agent and Seattle can sign her.

The 33-year-old adds a post presence to the Seattle team, which already boasts offensive firepower from Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird. Charles is still in the hunt for her first WNBA championship, with the Storm also hoping to lift the league trophy at the end of the year to send out Bird on a high.

Sky have top spot within sight

The Chicago Sky put on a thrilling performance in their home game against the Minnesota Lynx Sunday, following up a historic comeback against the Aces on Tuesday. Now the Sky are looking to extend their win streak to four games as they face off against Connecticut on Wednesday and Phoenix on Saturday.

Sitting only a half-game back of league-leading Las Vegas, Chicago has a chance to dethrone the Aces atop the table.

The Sky’s offense has been stellar, leading the league in field goal percentage at 47 while falling behind the Aces in three-point percentage at 35.9. Courtney Vandersloot, a key facilitator for the squad, has finished in the double-figures in the last six Sky games for her best scoring streak since 2020.

Is New York the real deal?

The New York Liberty are enjoying a two-game win streak, turning around a season that got off to a slow start.

Sabrina Ionescu has been on a tear since notching her second career triple-double on June 12, nearly repeating the feat in her last four games. The addition of Marine Johannes has been critical for New York, with the French star joining Ionescu as one of the squad’s clutch shooters.

The Liberty released Crystal Dangerfield from her hardship contract Friday but may bring her back in early July with some roster engineering. How the team will fair without her and whether or not New York can continue their climb up the WNBA standings will be in question as they face the Atlanta Dream on Thursday and the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.

Full Schedule

Monday, June 27

  • Indiana Fever vs. Phoenix Mercury at 10 p.m. ET on Facebook.com/Indianafever
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. Los Angeles Sparks at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV

Tuesday, June 28

  • Atlanta Dream vs. Washington Mystics at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Dallas Wings vs. Minnesota Lynx at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN3

Wednesday, June 29

  • Connecticut Sun vs. Chicago Sky at 12 p.m. ET on NBA TV
  • Indiana Fever vs. Phoenix Mercury at 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm at 10 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime

Thursday, June 30

  • Atlanta Dream vs. New York Liberty at 7 p.m. ET on Twitter

Friday, July 1

  • Los Angeles Sparks vs. Dallas Wings at 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. Minnesota Lynx at 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV
  • Indiana Fever vs. Seattle Storm at 10 p.m. ET on Facebook

Saturday, July 2

  • Phoenix Mercury vs. Chicago Sky at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN

Sunday, July 3

  • Washington Mystics vs. Connecticut Sun at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN
  • Seattle Storm vs. Atlanta Dream at 3 p.m. ET on NBA TV
  • New York Liberty vs. Los Angeles Sparks at 6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. Minnesota Lynx at 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime

Tina Charles is set to sign with the Seattle Storm after mutually parting ways with the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, according to multiple reports.

Phoenix announced the contract divorce with Charles in a statement released on Saturday. The Ball Out was the first to report the news of the center’s intended new destination.

“After discussions with Tina and agent, it was best for both parties to go our separate ways at this time,” Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said. “Due to circumstances both in and out of our control, our season has not gone according to plan, and we continue to pursue all avenues for improvement.”

Charles averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 16 appearances with the Mercury after signing a one-year contract with the team in February.

The Seattle Storm, who waived forward Reshanda Gray on Friday, are looking to send Sue Bird out with a title run in her final WNBA season. Currently in fourth place in the league standings, Seattle (11-7) has engineered a turnaround after a slow start to the season.

Storm coach Noelle Quinn did not comment on the Charles reports before Seattle’s Saturday game against the Los Angeles Sparks.

“Our focus is right now and my focus right now is on the game,” Quinn said. “I don’t really have a comment about Tina.”

The Mercury (7-12) won their first game without Charles on the roster Saturday night, beating the Wings 83-72. But she was clearly on the minds of at least one of her former teammates. Sophie Cunningham shouted “F— Tina Charles!” after the win, according to reporter Landon Thomas.

The Storm and the Mercury will face off for the third and final time this season at 10 p.m. ET on July 22.

Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird is one of 20 WNBA All-Star selections announced Wednesday, with Bird extending her record number of selections to 13.

Joining Bird are Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles, Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson and fellow Seattle teammate Breanna Stewart. A total of four guards and six frontcourt players were selected. Two first-timers will join them in Chicago, with Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu and Kelsey Plum each making their first team.

“For icons like Sylvia and Sue to be voted into the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game as starters in their 19th and 15th seasons, respectively, is extraordinary,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “And when you see the starting lineups dotted with first-time All-Stars like Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, it just seems right that Sylvia and Sue — who have said this will be their final season — join A’ja and Breanna as co-captains for an All-Star event that will in some ways symbolize the passing of the torch to a new generation of WNBA stars.”

Wilson and Stewart each received the most fan votes, making them co-captains who will select teams. They will be joined by Bird and Fowles, respectively, who are being honored in their final WNBA seasons.

Phoenix Mercury star Brittany Griner, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia, has been named an honorary All-Star. Griner has been named an All-Star seven times previously in her career.

“During each season of Brittney’s career in which there has been an All-Star Game, she has been selected as an All-Star,” Engelbert said. “It is not difficult to imagine that if BG were here with us this season, she would once again be selected and would, no doubt, show off her incredible talents. So, it is only fitting that she be named as an honorary starter today and we continue to work on her safe return to the U.S.”

Backcourt

  • Kelsey Plum, LVA
  • Jackie Young, LVA
  • Sabrina Ionescu, NYL
  • Sue Bird, SEA
  • Jewell Loyd, SEA
  • Skylar Diggins-Smith, PHX
  • Arike Ogunbowale, DAL
  • Courtney Vandersloot, CHI
  • Rhyne Howard, ATL
  • Kelsey Mitchell, IND

Frontcourt

  • A’ja Wilson, LVA
  • Breanna Stewart, SEA
  • Sylvia Fowles, MIN
  • Nneka Ogwumike, LAS
  • Jonquel Jones, CON
  • Candace Parker, CHI
  • Dearica Hamby, LVA
  • Elena Delle Donne, WAS
  • Tina Charles, PHO
  • Emma Meesseman, CHI

All eyes were on Sue Bird as the New York native took the court for the final time in front of a hometown crowd at the Barclays Center on Sunday.

The New York fans showered the 41-year-old with a standing ovation as Bird drained the game-sealing 3-pointer for a win against the Liberty in an emotional farewell.

Bird announced Thursday that she would be retiring at the end of the season, kickstarting the goodbye tour for the WNBA legend.

“I think part of announcing you’re going to retire gives fans a chance to say hi, wear your jersey, rep you one last time,” Bird said after her announcement.

Seattle’s Friday game against Connecticut at Mohegan Sun Arena and Sunday’s matchup at the Barclays Center were of particular interest for Bird, with both outings a homecoming for the UConn alumnus.

“When the schedule comes out, there are two games I circle mentally, the New York game and the Connecticut game, and that’s because they feel like homecomings, I know that I am going to get the support, I know I am going to be able to play in front of people that really watched me grow up and that’s really special to me,” Bird said ahead of her East Coast swing.

The Big Apple certainly showed out for Bird, with the Liberty wearing warm-up T-shirts donning the message, “Thank you, Sue. Love, New York.” An extended video tribute for Bird also played on the big screen at the Barclays Center ahead of Sunday’s contest.

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The New York Liberty's Didi Richards wears a shirt honoring the Seattle Storm's Sue Bird during warm-ups Sunday, June 19, in New York. (Mary Kate Ridgway)

After the game, Bird addressed the crowd, speaking with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe on the court, “I want to thank the New York Liberty, they really showed me a lot of love. To all the fans that came out, thank you so much.”

Sinking three of her seven attempted 3-pointers, Bird capped off her New York basketball career in storybook fashion, notching 11 points and four assists.

“It was really special, right from warmups. … That three-pointer at the end, I will really remember forever,” Bird said in the post-game press conference.