🏛 SUE BIRD ENTERS THE UCONN RAFTERS

ANOTHER ACCOLADE FOR THE HALL OF FAMER

It’s been an amazing year for Sue Bird. The Long iSland native saw her career honored with a statue by the Seattle Storm in August, and two Hall of Fame inductions in 2025. On December 7, Bird’s #10 jersey entered the rafters at the University of Connecticut.

During her four years at UConn, Bird won two national championships and the Naismith Award as the country's best player in her senior season. Bird joins Basketball Hall of Famers Rebecca Lobo and Swin Cash with their jerseys retired by Connecticut.

In her speech, Bird thanked her friends and family for years of support and shared an interesting anecdote. She joked that her niece was more excited to see Azzi Fudd than Aunt Sue’s jersey retirement, and Bird recounted some of her early experiences as a women’s basketball fan that didn’t have the opportunity to watch games as women’s basketball wasn’t on TV in the ways that they are now:

“How lucky am I that I got to come to a university that supported women's basketball, that valued women's basketball, and I got to feel that. I got to play in front of fans that believed in women's basketball. That was my experience. So we talk about all the things we're doing now in my generation, I learned that here. And then I got to play with teammates who had the same dreams as I did.”

“I got to learn what it means to be a part of something bigger, like a family, because of the way the alumni embraced us. And watching them try to achieve their dreams, I knew what was possible and I hope you guys watch the alumni in that way now.”

Bird’s journey to this point mirrors the rise of women’s basketball to a certain extent. As she mentioned, there was a time in the not too distant past where women’s basketball was relegated to second class status by the biggest sports network on the planet and league’s television partner.

However, the fans and players kept the game alive and created a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive environment for all. Bird and other legends such as Candace Parker fought to grow the game despite resistance from big executives and have become respected ambassadors for basketball at home and abroad. It’s a testament to the resilience of women’s basketball that it survived the dark days and is now in a space with more ways to watch and follow the sport.

Bird’s on-court excellence is what earned her all of the accolades and Hall of Fame inductions. And that excellence has powered her into other arenas where she has succeeded and opened doors for others to follow in her footsteps.

As we move into a new future, we should stop to celebrate the accomplishments of legends like Bird while also making sure we continue to push the game forward on and off the court.