Storm legend Sue Bird elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

Sue Bird is officially headed to the Hall of Fame.

The Seattle Storm legend and all-time WNBA great was announced as one of nine members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 induction class on Saturday morning. Bird will be enshrined during a ceremony on Sept. 5-6 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The other inductees are fellow WNBA greats Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, former NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, Chicago Bulls head coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison, longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford and the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball gold medal team.

Longtime Gonzaga men’s basketball coach Mark Few was one of 17 finalists, but was not selected in his first year on the ballot.

Bird, a 13-time WNBA All-Star, established herself as one of the league’s all-time greatest point guards while spending her entire 19-year career with the Storm. She helped lead Seattle to four WNBA titles in 2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020, which made her the only player in league history to win championships in three different decades.

Bird is the WNBA’s all-time leader in assists (3,234), wins (333) and games played (580). She also ranks second all-time in 3-pointers (1,001), third in steals (724) and eighth in points (6,803).

Bird, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft, averaged 11.7 points and 5.6 assists over her decorated career with the Storm. She scored at least 10 points per game in 17 of her 19 seasons, including a career-high 14.7 in 2011. She averaged at least six assists per game five times, including a career-high 7.1 in 2018.

Bird also was a five-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA and a two-time national champion at UConn, where she was the Naismith National Player of the Year in 2002.

Bird retired after the 2022 season at age 41.

Seattle Storm make another addition, this time a reunion with forward

Follow @CameronVanTil