The WNBA sends a message to the Storm after the unveiling of Sue Bird’s statue just before Seatte’s game on Sunday.

Former Seattle Storm player, Sue Bird, poses for a photo in front of her statue prior to the game between the Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury at Climate Pledge Arena.
Former Seattle Storm superstar and WNBA legend Sue Bird had her basketball legacy further cemented with the unveiling of her statue on Sunday. Placed just outside of Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Bird’s statue is also the first one ever built for a WNBA player.

The league shared a message on social media via X (formerly Twitter) to praise the Storm for their initiative to have Bird’s bronze likeness come into fruition.

Wrote the WNBA: “The Seattle Storm unveiled a statue honoring Sue Bird today, making her the first player in WNBA history to be recognized with a statue by her franchise. With this historic moment, the Storm also become the first WNBA franchise to dedicate a statue to a former player.”

Bird’s statue was shown publicly for the first time just before Sunday’s game between the Storm and the visiting Phoenix Mercury. Although the Storm failed to further brighten the day for Seattle, as they suffered an 85-82 loss to the Mercury, it doesn’t diminish Seattle’s incredible and symbolic gesture to one of the greatest basketball players ever.

“People keep asking me what it feels like to be the first,” Bird said in a speech during her statue’s unveiling (h/t Kevin Pelton of ESPN). “The truth is that I never set out to be the first at anything, but if being the first means I won’t be the last, if this statue means that 20 years from now there will be statues of other WNBA greats — some who are in the audience and players whose names you don’t even know yet — than I’m proud to be the first.”

Selected first overall in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Storm, Bird lived up to the hype on the court and played her entire career in the league with Seattle. She helped the franchise win a total of four WNBA championships. Moreover, Bird, a product of the Connecticut Huskies basketball program, got 13 WNBA All-Star nods and five selections into the All-WNBA First Team.

When Bird hung up his sneakers at the end of the 2022 WNBA campaign, she did so as the Storm’s all-time leader in points (6,803). She is also still the league’s all-time record-holder in career assists with 3,234 dimes through 580 games played in the WNBA regular season.