The Seattle Storm retired Sue Bird’s No. 10 jersey in 2023, and now UConn, the legend’s alma mater (1998-2002), plans to do the same.
The ceremony will take place on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PT before the Huskies face DePaul at Gampel Pavilion, streaming on the UConn women’s basketball team’s X and Facebook pages as well as the UConn Huskies YouTube page.
The point guard, who led the Storm to four WNBA championships (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) in 21 years with the team, brought similar success to UConn. The Huskies had a 136-9 record for a 93.7 win percentage across Bird’s four seasons. She led UConn to Big East championships each season and two national titles (2000 and 2002).
“The connection she had with [Head] Coach Geno Auriemma and as a point guard, being able to understand his vision and help make it happen on the court (was great),” UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey told The Seattle Times in August. “From an offensive standpoint, Coach has a vision for how it is supposed to look.”
Added Auriemma about the 82-70 national title win against Oklahoma in 2002: “Looking at her and watching her reaction to something that she always wanted. It was her second one, but to do it as a senior in your last game, that moment will always be something I remember for a long time.”
Bird thrice earned the Nancy Lieberman award for the nation’s top point guard and was the 2002 Naismith Player of the Year. She finished her college career with 1,378 points and 585 assists and became the program’s first-ever No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft when selected by the Storm.
The 45-year-old was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September, which granted her eligibility to have her number retired collegiately. Auriemma, along with Storm teammate Lauren Jackson and UConn teammate Swin Cash, presented Bird at the ceremony in Springfield, Mass.
Bird’s No. 10 will join Cash’s No. 32 and Rebecca Lobo’s No. 50 as the only retired numbers in UConn program history. Jackson’s No. 15 is the only other Storm jersey alongside Bird’s in the rafters of Climate Pledge Arena.
Bird, who now has ownership stake in the Storm franchise, was a WNBA-record 13-time All-Star and leads the league in all-time assists (3,234). She also competed for Team USA, winning five Olympic gold medals and four World Championship gold medals.
