Sue Bird staying busy with 20th Seattle season on horizon
SEATTLE (AP) - Sue Bird's busy week continued Wednesday standing atop the most recognizable landmark in Seattle helping raise a giant green flag to show off the new logo of the only WNBA franchise she has ever played for.
Bird remained connected with Seattle on Monday when she officially re-signed with the Storm for her 20th season with the franchise. She helped launch a new women-focused media production company on Tuesday called 'œTOGETHXR,'ť partnering with Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim.
And she capped the hectic three days showing off the Storm's new logo, the first major brand change in the history of the franchise, to the rest of the city by raising a flag atop the Space Needle on a rare, sunny late-winter afternoon.
'œMy free agencies are pretty boring. I kind of make it clear where my allegiances lie,'ť Bird said. 'œSo coming back to the Storm was always a given. There was never any question otherwise.'ť
The 40-year-old is the oldest player in the WNBA and Bird reiterated on Wednesday she's still taking it on a year-by-year basis about how much longer she wants to play.
She purposely delayed her re-signing with the Storm to allow the team time to revamp their roster and build a team that could help Bird achieve one of the few things in the league she has yet to achieve: win back-to-back titles.
Seattle won the title in 2018, lost in early in the playoffs in 2019 after Bird and Breanna Stewart missed the season with injuries, and then reclaimed the league championship last year playing in the WNBA bubble in Florida.
'œI just wanted to wait and allow the team to do what it could to have the best team possible. And right now the way the CBA works, a lot of that is financial conversations,'ť Bird said. 'œSo for me, it wasn't about the actual pen and paper signing. I want to compete for a championship at all times and I don't want my money to be the reason that somebody can't stay.
But there are other interests away from the court Bird is becoming more involved with. The launch of a women-focused content platform is one of them. Bird said she was approached by Morgan 18 to 24 months ago about the idea and was immediately hooked at what it could provide.
'œThe 4% media coverage for women's sports, that's a problem. And a lot of times we try to fight for more percentage, if you will,'ť Bird said. 'œSo this is a way for Alex, myself, Chloe, and Simone to do something about it.'ť
There's also the idea of her involvement with basketball in Seattle once her playing career ends, whenever that is. Bird has mentioned in an article in GQ last month her interested in being involved with the Storm or the potential return of the NBA and the SuperSonics to Seattle once her playing career ends.
The idea came to the forefront this week when the Atlanta Dream were sold to a new ownership group that included former WNBA standout Renee Montgomery.
'œIt's definitely something that has crossed my mind,'ť Bird said. 'œIt's one of those things that it's hard to really have those conversations when you're still playing. ... Being involved in the Seattle sports scene is something I'd be extremely interested in.'ť