'This is home': UConn retires Sue Bird's No. 10 jersey in emotional ceremony at Gampel Pavilion

Sue Bird received a standing ovation at Gampel Pavilion as her No. 10 jersey was officially retired by UConn. Geno Auriemma stood by her side while calling her "the greatest point guard to play basketball, man or woman." Once she got the microphone from him, Bird joked that he had never said that in front of her.

She has often said that UConn feels like family. This weekend, more than all the championships and personal accomplishments, she highlighted that Storrs, Conn. helped shape her as a player and as a person. 

`This is home," she said. "This is where it started. So to see what we are about to see, my number up in the rafters, the rafters next to these other legends, it's an incredible, incredible honor. Hard to put into words."

Bird joined Rebecca Lobo and Swin Cash as the only two other players from the program to get that honor so far. Maya Moore will be next, but it has to happen after her induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame because that is a requirement for jersey retirements at UConn.

"I think it represents how in a list of some incredible people, how unique some really were for a lot of different reasons," said Auriemma, who has coached UConn to 12 national championships. "The amazing thing about these three, and Maya, the fourth, was the incredible amount of success they had after they left here. That as great as their accomplishments were here, what they've done since they left has been nothing short of incredible."

Bird earned two national championships during her time with UConn while amassing an impressive 114-4 record. She became the program's first ever No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick in 2002, and then went on to win four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm, as well as five Olympic gold medals with Team USA. Bird officially retired in 2022, but her impact is still being felt at UConn and elsewhere.

Bird got video messages from former teammates and other UConn greats, which were played at the arena throughout the game. These included videos from Lobo, Cash, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi. 

"That No. 10 is one of the big reasons why I went to Connecticut," Taurasi said. "I'm proud to call you a teammate, sister and a fan for life. We all love you. Congratulations."

The current Huskies were also excited to celebrate Bird. They wore the c-ball throwback uniform, the same one Bird used to wear, on Sunday during their 102-35 win against DePaul. Earlier this week, UConn shared clips of players thanking Bird for her impact on women's basketball.

"If you are playing basketball and you want to play the right way, you want to play like Sue Bird," Azzi Fudd said. "You want to be a leader like her. You want to be a floor general like her. You want to have that kind of IQ. 

"To see what she was able to accomplish here, the adversity that she faced here, in the W, and what she's been able to do, I think players now have to give her so much credit and thank her. Give her all her flowers because she really helped pave the way to make things possible. So thank you Sue for making UConn what is is now, helping build the W, and helping grow my love for basketball."