Sue Bird
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Image:173512 480 art R0.jpg Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is a professional women's basketball player. A high school star, she then went on to become a key part of the national champion University of Connecticut team, the first player to be picked in the 2002 WNBA Draft and an Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA. She is not related to NBA legend Larry Bird.
Bird was born in Syosset, New York. Her father, Herschel Bird, is of Russian Jewish descent; the original family name was "Boorda".[1]
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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 title championships 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.
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. Image:0521b.jpg 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.
Sue Bird is one of six women to receive a Gold Medal, NCAA championship, and a WNBA Championship. The others are Ruth Riley, Sheryl Swoopes, and fellow Huskies Swin Cash, Rebecca Lobo, and Kara Wolters.
International career
In the 2003-2004 offseason, 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.
Template:Naismith Award Winners Women Template:Wade Trophy
External links
Categories: 1980 births | American basketball players | Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics | Jewish American sportspeople | Living people | Long Islanders | Olympic competitors for the United States | Seattle Storm players | UConn Huskies women's basketball players | Women's National Basketball Association first overall draft picks