WNBA’s all-time assists leader to make 21st year in the league her last
Seattle Storm point guard and WNBA legend Sue Bird announced this morning that the 2022 season—her 21st year in the league—would be her final one as a player in the WNBA.
Bird, who is one of the most decorated women’s professional basketball players in history, has spent her entire 21-year career with the Storm, having played in 19 seasons—the most of any player in WNBA history. She has been honored on each of the WNBA’s milestone teams including the All-Decade Team (2006), Top 15 Players (2011), Top 20@20 (2016) and was named to the W25 team in 2021 as one of the 25 greatest and most influential players in league history.
In addition, Bird has won a record five Olympic gold medals to go along with four WNBA championships, two NCAA Championships, and five EuroLeague titles. She has also been selected to a WNBA-record 12 all-star games and has been honored as an All-WNBA selection eight times.
Bird is the WNBA’s all-time assist leader, recording her 3,000th career assist on July 9, 2021 at Phoenix, and has 3,114 career assists—514 more than any other player. She is the only player to play in at least 500 games, starting in each of her 559 career games played. In addition, Bird ranks second in career three-pointers made (965), fourth in steals (700), and seventh in points (6,639).
Bird’s importance to the Seattle Storm franchise cannot be overstated. Originally selected as the No. 1 overall pick by Seattle in the 2002 WNBA draft, Bird has been with the Storm for 21 of the franchise’s 23 seasons of existence. In addition, she has scored or assisted on 27.5% of every basket scored in Seattle Storm history, including the four seasons she didn’t play (2000, 2001, 2013 and 2019). When only including games she has played in, Bird has scored or assisted on 35.4% of all Storm baskets.
More information on celebrations surrounding Bird will be announced throughout the remainder of the season.
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