Storm Legend Sue Bird Elected to Basketball Hall of Fame
Former Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird advances down the court. Bird was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. Credit: Lorie Shaull
Seattle Storm legendary point guard Sue Bird has officially reached basketball immortality after being selected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025. She is among eight other selections, including fellow WNBA greats Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles.
Bird played all 19 seasons of her WNBA career with the Storm, won four league titles with Seattle (2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020), was a 13-time All-Star and earned five-time First Team All-WNBA selections. All of the franchise’s WNBA championships were won with Bird as a primary contributor.
In addition to Fowles and Moore, Bird joins former NBA players Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard as selections. The 2008 “Redeem Team” U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team will be enshrined as a group, as will current Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan and NBA referee Danny Crawford. Finally, Miami Heat owner Micky Arison was a contributor’s committee selection.
“Surreal,” Bird said of her selection, per ESPN. “I don't think there’s any way to really wrap your head around it.”
Two seasons removed from her retirement in 2022, Bird remains the WNBA’s all-time leader in assists (3,234), wins (333), games played (580) and minutes (18,079). She is also third in steals (724) and eighth in career points (6,803). Bird’s No. 10 was retired by the franchise in June 2023 — joining Lauren Jackson (No. 15) as the only two retired jerseys in team history.
But Bird’s extensive resume stretches back to her college days at UConn, and she joins an elite group of Huskies women’s program members already in the Hall. Head coach Geno Auriemma, Swin Cash and Rebecca Lobo have already been enshrined, with Bird and Moore the newest additions. Bird won two national titles with UConn in 2000 and 2002.
“They’re Hall of Famers for me, they’re Hall of Famers for their family, they’re Hall of Famers for everybody – they’re even Hall of Famers for UConn haters,” Auriemma said, per ESPN. “That’s one thing they can all agree on.”
Bird’s impact has stretched internationally, winning five Olympic gold medals and five FIBA World Cup medals with Team USA. She also sporadically played overseas during her career in the offseason from 2004–14.
The WNBA numbers may have been enough to land her in the Hall alone, but she was an inevitable addition with how wide she cast her net of success.
The Hall of Fame announced 17 finalists for enshrinement on Feb. 14 and that group was narrowed to nine on Saturday. The Class of 2025 Enshrinement Weekend will be Sept. 5–6 in Springfield, MA.
