Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird recently revealed a team-up that could have changed the dynamic of the WNBA during her time, but unfortunately did not pan out.
In one of the recent episodes of her podcast “A Touch More,” Sue Bird revealed a story where she and her friend Diana Taurasi almost had a team-up. However, the logistics of their locations and their team loyalty prevented it from happening.
“Probably in the 2012, 2013 range, we were like, ‘What are we doing? Why don’t we play together in the WNBA?’” Bird said. “We got to the point where we knew it would be New York, because let’s be honest, I’m not going to Phoenix and she’s not going to Seattle.”
Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were college basketball teammates at the University of Connecticut (UConn), where they played under the legendary coach Geno Auriemma for the UConn Huskies.
Bird, a senior, and Taurasi, a sophomore, led the Huskies to an NCAA championship in 2002. This victory was part of UConn’s remarkable run of three consecutive national titles from 2002 to 2004, with Taurasi playing a pivotal role in all three championships.
Sue Bird, who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm, won four WNBA championships in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020. She was selected to the WNBA All-Star team 13 times and earned five All-WNBA First Team selections. Bird also led the league in assists three times and was named to the WNBA’s 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th Anniversary Teams.
Diana Taurasi, on the other hand, won three WNBA championships in 2007, 2009, and 2014. She was named the WNBA Finals MVP twice and the league MVP once. Taurasi was selected to the WNBA All-Star team 11 times and earned 10 All-WNBA First Team selections.
Sue Bird Discusses What Separates Diana Taurasi in WNBA GOAT Debate
In an interview with TIME magazine, where Diana Taurasi also announced her retirement from professional basketball, Sue Bird commented on what separates her friend and Phoenix Mercury legend from other names in debates about who the WNBA greatest of all time (GOAT) is.
“There are players that have full games,” Bird told TIME about Taurasi. “You can talk about Maya Moore in this conversation, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie. You could talk about all these great names. The difference is the way she makes her teammates feel. The way she raises the level of her teams. That, to me, is the separator.”
Sue Bird retired from professional basketball at the end of the 2022 WNBA season. Since then, she has enjoyed her retirement and explored new opportunities, including podcasting.
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