Fans could already admire her jersey hanging from the ceiling of Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena, and now they will be able to walk down Sue Bird Court on their way to Storm games. The city of Seattle unveiled a street in tribute to the Storm player on Monday.
Sue Bird spent her entire career with the Seattle franchise between 2002 and 2022 and has a near-unique track record with four WNBA championship titles, 13 All-Star selections, 8 All-WNBA selections and much more.
What was previously the end of “2nd Avenue North” becomes “Sue Bird Court” and it will cross paths with another Seattle basketball legend, “Lenny Wilkens Way.”
A celebration still rare for women in sport
“For a woman in sport, it's not common”, Bird estimates. “We're starting to see it more as A'ja Wilson statuewe're starting to see these things celebrated. I didn't know that was possible. That's actually what makes it even more unique. A young girl might see a road sign, or a poster, or any piece of art, and she'll dream about it.”
A year after his jersey retirement, which lasted nearly three hours, this ceremony was an opportunity to take a step back from his immense career as well as that of his fiancée, Megan Rapinoe, the soccer player whose jersey was retired by Seattle Reign FC this Sunday.
“When you're in your career, when you're trying to win and do and accomplish something, you can lose focus on that,” recognizes the former Storm player. “You're so focused, and then when you step back and take a moment or have a weekend like this where you're celebrated, it's really special to share it with the city, but also for Megan and I to share it together.”
