LOOK: Sue Bird becomes first WNBA player honored with statue, commemorating illustrious Storm career

Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird became the first player in WNBA history to be honored with a statue. On Sunday, the team unveiled outside Climate Pledge Arena a statue of Bird shooting a layup in her Storm jersey, immortalizing her in Seattle as one of the all-time greats to suit up in the WNBA.

It took just three years following her retirement for the Storm to honor Bird with the first-of-its-kind statue. She departed from the franchise after the 2022 season as a four-time WNBA champion, 13-time All-Star and five-time Olympic gold medalist. That long list of accomplishments is only a small part of her résumé, which includes elite success at the college and pro levels.

Bird explained why she picked the layup pose for her statue, noting a meaningful part of her history with the Storm.

"Some fun little fact about my career that maybe some of you know, maybe not: My very first points in the WNBA at Key Arena as a rookie were on a layup," Bird said at the ceremony. "My very final points in the WNBA were at Climate Pledge on a layup."

The Storm also previously honored Bird by retiring her No. 10 jersey.

Bird is one of the most decorated athletes in women's basketball history. She was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in April. In addition to her championships and All-Star nods, Bird also led the WNBA three times in assists (2005, '09 and '16). She won league titles overseas, too, as a longtime member of the Russian National League.

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Jack Maloney

Seattle selected Bird with the No. 1 pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft, anointing her as the future of the franchise on the heels of a tremendous college career at UConn. With the Huskies, Bird earned All-American honors in two separate years and was the national player of the year in 2002. She won two national championships with the second coming in that outstanding 2022 campaign.

It took no time at all for Bird to make an invaluable impact for the Storm. She debuted in 2002 as the league leader in free throw percentage and averaged 14.4 points, 6.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game as a rookie. Each of those marks ranked among the best of her career, which spanned the following two decades. Bird peaked at 14.7 points per game in 2011 and 7.1 assists per game in 2018.

Bird's legacy is that of arguably the greatest player in WNBA history. She is the only player to win a league title in three different decades and became the oldest player in WNBA history, at age 41, to play a full season. She ranks first all time in seasons, games and minutes played and is the WNBA career assists leader. She also stands atop the leaderboard in All-Star selections and appearances.