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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Commentary: Storm’s leader made sure she kept career going by doing ‘Sue Bird things’

Seattle Storm's Sue Bird (10) waits for the play to start as the Las Vegas Aces face the Storm in the last regular season game of the year, and Bird's last regular season game as a player, at Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, in Las Vegas.  (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
By Matt Calkins Seattle Times

Amanda Nelson doesn’t know Sue Bird, but she did mention her in her wedding vows. She and her husband, Erik, are from Connecticut and have been fans of the Seattle Storm point guard for nearly 25 years.

On Sunday, Nelson brought a sign to Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena that read “Whose House? Sue’s House!” on one side and “Sue: Thank You for absolutely EVERYTHING (Miss you already)” on the other. But that second side turned out to be premature – Sue made extra sure of that.

Bird, who will retire after the playoffs, guaranteed herself another home game after dropping a season-high 18 points and season-high 10 assists in a 97-84 win over the Mystics. In downing Washington 2-0 in the first round of the WNBA postseason, Bird saved her best to make sure Sunday wouldn’t be her last.

A loss would have sent the Storm back to D.C. for Game 3, which could have ended Bird’s 21-year WNBA career had the Mystics come away with the win. That didn’t happen, largely because a Seattle GOAT whipped out her horns.

“I only have so many games left,” said Bird, who also had four rebounds, two steals and a block. “What today’s win did is obviously push us into the semifinals – it also guaranteed us more home games. That was definitely in the back of my mind as I entered today.”

Bird didn’t have her best performance in Game 1 of this series, when she scored 10 points to go along with two assists in the Storm’s three-point win. In Game 2 she produced the most points she’s had since May of last year and the most assists she’s had since June of last year. Her output wasn’t exactly subtle, either, as she hit her first four shots – three of which were three-pointers – and tallied five dimes in each half.

It’s tempting to say Bird’s final stat line isn’t one you’d expect from a 41-year-old playing in a crucial postseason contest. But we’re talking about one of the most accomplished players in the history of the WNBA here. Perhaps that’s why postgame questions about Bird’s afternoon all yielded nearly identical responses.

“That’s Sue Bird,” Mystics guard Natasha Cloud said. “She did Sue Bird things.”

“Vintage Sue,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn added. “It’s something about these moments that make me understand why she’s so great.”

“It’s what she does,” Storm guard Jewell Loyd said. “She’s greatness.”

It would be a stretch to say that Bird carried the Storm on Sunday – especially when you consider that all five of their starters finished in double figures. League MVP candidate Breanna Stewart had 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, falling just shy of posting the third postseason triple-double in WNBA history. Loyd had 19 points, 15 of which came from deep. Gabby Williams had 14 on 5 of 6 shooting. Center Tina Charles, meanwhile, put up 12 points in 18 minutes – continuing to show why she was such a critical midseason pickup.

But the day – like the bulk of this team’s fan base – belonged to Sue Bird.

Twenty-one seconds after Washington’s Alysha Clark drilled a three to cut the deficit to one in the third quarter, Bird answered with a 17-foot jumper that ignited a 9-0 scoring run for Seattle. And seconds after giving a picturesque assist to Charles that put the Storm up by 11 with just over two minutes to go, Bird stole a pass from Cloud and went coast-to-coast for a layup that sparked an eruption from the 12,490 fans in attendance, Bird and every last one of her teammates.

“The moment after she made the layup when she really got the crowd hyped, she got the rest of us hyped, too,” Stewart said. “It was amazing to see.”

Who knows what will unfold next for Bird and the Storm? Their next challenge is a best-of-five series with the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces, who won their two playoff games vs. Phoenix by an average of 25.5 points. Seattle lost three out of four to Vegas this season and will certainly not be the favorite in the city’s sportsbooks.

But the Storm are built to win with players such as Loyd, Stewart, Charles and others – all anchored by a point guard with four WNBA titles.

After the game, Mystics coach Mike Thibault joked that he’s going to be happy to see Bird go.

“As much as I love Sue, I’ll be glad she’ll be sitting in the stands next year when we walk into this place,” Thibault said.

But she won’t be the next time the Aces walk into Climate Pledge Arena. And as much as those Vegas players might love her, too, they won’t be happy to see her.