Sue Bird is a well-known American professional basketball player who played for the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Seattle Storm (WNBA).
In terms of accomplishments, she is a three-time WNBA Champion after being associated with the Storm. She also owns four FIBA World Cup titles, four Olympic gold medals, and is a five-time EuroLeague champion. Now, take a look at her top 100 quotes, which are listed below.
- “The one thing you learn is when you can step out of your comfort zone and be uncomfortable, you see what you’re made of and who you are.”― Sue Bird
- “Usually men, usually a guy, a casual fan of maybe the NBA and somebody who then watches the WNBA, their instinct is quick to kind of size us up or put themselves against us.”― Sue Bird
- “When I turned 30, the first question I got was, ‘How much longer do you want to play?’ And I don’t see why that can’t be when you turn 40. I really don’t.”― Sue Bird
- “My high school class was the first one to know, during the college recruiting process, to know there was the option to play professional basketball, to know that the WNBA was there, and to know I better pick a school that is going to help me get to the next level.”― Sue Bird
- “You can control what you put in your body, how you take care of yourself, how much you work. You have to control what you can.”― Sue Bird
- “The reality is, like, women’s basketball players are playing against women. And we’re all in the same boat the same way men’s sports is.”― Sue Bird
- “There was no professional basketball for me in the United States when I was in grade school and middle school. I could look to the Olympics and college basketball, but that was only on TV for the Final Four.”― Sue Bird
- “Whenever you go up 2-0, you understand that teams are going to be desperate.”― Sue Bird
- “Basketball is a short period of time, and you’ve got to take advantage of it.”― Sue Bird
- “OBVIOUSLY, TALENT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF, SO, YEAH, YOU GOT TO GO IN THERE, AND YOU GOT TO PLAY WELL. YOU GOT TO PLAY YOUR GAME, BUT THAT’S KIND OF THE EASY PART IN SOME WAYS.”― SUE BIRD
- “That’s how the WNBA is a lot of times. It’s being in the right place at the right time and fulfilling a role. All of us in some way, shape, or form are role players. We have to do what our teams need of us.”― Sue Bird
- “We’re going to have a moment. It’s coming: just that breakthrough that’s going to give us a cool factor, and more people will want to be a part of it. Because that, to me, is the only thing we’re lacking – that social thing: ‘It’s cool to go to a WNBA game.’”― Sue Bird
- “Be kind. Be nice to yourself. You miss a shot, it’s OK.”― Sue Bird
- “Homophobia hurts our league. Racism hurts it. Sexism hurts it.”― Sue Bird
- “Soccer was actually my first love, but eventually, basketball took that over.”― Sue Bird
- “I can take care of myself. You’re probably never going to know if something bad is happening in my life. I think I was just made that way.”― Sue Bird
- “I have a whole journey – everybody does in life.”― Sue Bird
- “I can be quiet and a little shy.”― Sue Bird
- “As an athlete, as a free agent, you owe it to yourself to explore your options.”― Sue Bird
- “When you’re losing, and you’re losing again, and you’re losing 3… 4… 5 games in a row, it can be frustrating.”― Sue Bird
- “You hear about players like Jamal Crawford who’s constantly giving back. Isaiah Thomas, even though he’s from Tacoma, he went to U-Dub, and he’s constantly giving back to the community.”― Sue Bird
- “People have this kind of different image of what Israel is and what it’s about. And yes, there are military people all over, but there’s so much more.”― Sue Bird
- “Going to Jerusalem was an amazing experience… I spent most of my time in Tel Aviv. Gorgeous.”― Sue Bird
- “I’m a worrier, an overthinker, and – if it’s your type of thing – a 3x WNBA champion.”― Sue Bird
- “I love sneakers. My storage room is 75 percent sneakers.”― Sue Bird
- “I kinda always felt like I am out, for all intents and purposes. So I always came from the standpoint of, ‘Why does writing it in an article or saying it in an article make me gay?’ That doesn’t make me gay or not. I’m living my life. I’m not lying; I don’t hide it.”― Sue Bird
- “You kinda say, ‘Well, straight people don’t have to come out.’ I understand now that’s not necessarily the right way to look at it.”― Sue Bird
- “I think just by the nature of getting older, I hope that I’m a smarter basketball player than I was at 23.”― Sue Bird
- “The WNBA changed everything. It started in 1997, and I graduated from high school in 1998.”― Sue Bird
- “A young basketball player has people to look up to an emulate. We are a pro league, and we’re on television. It makes a difference. It’s shows what’s possible.”― Sue Bird
- “There’s been so many stories throughout the league where teams have started off poorly and ended up in the Finals. Or teams starting out great and not making the playoffs.”― Sue Bird
- “Every great team has had to fail at some point in order to be successful.”― Sue Bird
- “ALL OF THE TEAMS IN THIS LEAGUE THAT HAVE WON MULTIPLE CHAMPIONSHIPS, THEY DIDN’T COME OUT THE GATE WINNING. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE THOSE HITS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN.”― SUE BIRD
- “As quickly as you can go 4-1, you can go 1-4. And the whole objective is not to get too high and not to get too low. It’s one thing to tell somebody that and explain it, but it’s another thing to really buy in, to have felt that and understand what it means to stay even-keel. That’s what you have to be in this league.”― Sue Bird
- “At some high schools, you’re the star player, and everything revolves around you.”― Sue Bird
- “I’ve always played in a team atmosphere.”― Sue Bird
- “I guess, technically, I went to a New York City high school, but I wouldn’t call myself a New York City kid. But I’ve played against city kids all my life. So that kind of instills something in you.”― Sue Bird
- “When you’re a point guard, man, if you’re not up to par, you’re in a lot of trouble.”― Sue Bird
- “I love Russia.”― Sue Bird
- “I don’t feel this overwhelming pressure to play or to ‘make money.’ That’s not my driving goal.”― Sue Bird
- “A lot of us players, if you were to ask them, feel like they have to play overseas. Why? ‘Why not? Might as well do it while I can.’ For a while, I felt that way – I’ve got to make the most money that I can. Now, do I feel like I could still play overseas? Absolutely. But I don’t feel that pressure anymore.”― Sue Bird
- “I don’t really see myself as a sneakerhead. I think I’m someone that likes to have a nice pair of shoes on when they’re playing.”― Sue Bird
- “I really subscribe to the ‘look good, feel good’ mantra in terms of playing, in terms of getting out there.”― Sue Bird
- “I’m a big fan of the Kyrie shoe.”― Sue Bird
- “I like Air Max 90s; those are usually my go-to. I feel you can wear them with jeans, you can wear them with sweats, you can wear them with anything.”― Sue Bird
- “I actually don’t consider myself that private. I know that’s how I’ve been characterized. That’s OK.”― Sue Bird
- “’The Body Issue’ is celebrating athletes’ bodies, different sizes, different shapes… For me it’s a celebration, and it’s an honor to be in it.”― Sue Bird
- “For a lot of players, it’s not that they don’t want to play anymore or that they get tired of it or bored of it. It’s that their bodies give out.”― Sue Bird
- “Seattle is my home.”― Sue Bird
- “I am thrilled to be re-signing with the Storm. This franchise and city have been incredibly supportive throughout my career, and I am looking forward to getting back to work with my teammates.”― Sue Bird
- “Be a gunner? Me? I don’t think I can do it. But I’ll go for whatever the assist record is.”― Sue Bird
- “New York is like a melting pot: so many different people, so many different cultures.”― Sue Bird
- “I like knowing where my teammates are without having to look.”― Sue Bird
- “I’d love to have another chance to represent my country in the Olympics. If I’m healthy, absolutely… I’m very realistic when it comes to goals. I think it will all depend on my health.”― Sue Bird
- “I’m definitely a ‘comfort’ player. As a point guard, I like to know my teammates, feel connected to my teammates, and flow with them.”― Sue Bird
- “I was probably 7 or 8 when I went to see the Bulls play and was able to see Michael Jordan.”― Sue Bird
- “Whether I retire tomorrow or in 20 years, I just want to get as much out as I can. But with that, I have an understanding that basketball’s not forever.”― Sue Bird
- “There’s something nice about being part of a trailblazing group. It’s hard to look at myself that way because I look at Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoops and Rebecca Lobo and Dawn Staley in that way.”― Sue Bird
- “I ALWAYS THOUGHT FRONT OFFICE WORK, BEING WITH THE TEAM DAY IN AND DAY OUT, THAT WAS SOMETHING I WASN’T GOING TO GET TO UNTIL I WAS DONE.”― SUE BIRD
- “I’ve been really fortunate to go, and it’s exciting. You’re going to the White House. I remember first walking into the room to meet President Obama and the aura… It’s insane.”― Sue Bird
- “I’ve had, like, 10 surgeries in my life: four or so on my knee, my hip and my nose a couple of times.”― Sue Bird
- “I think when you go through any surgery, your body changes. And with that, it can be probably the toughest mental challenge you’re gonna face.”― Sue Bird
- “I thought that basketball and soccer were hard. And then I went to track practice. It’s just running and running and running. And my event was the 400 hurdles. I ended up qualifying for state. But looking back on it, track was hard.”― Sue Bird
- “I’ve never felt as nervous as I did before a track meet – literally, stomach going crazy – ’cause it was just so difficult.”― Sue Bird
- “The only thing that I’ve really noticed in my own experience is just people kind of saying that a woman, when they react to something exciting, ‘Oh, that’s a masculine way of reacting.’ And to me, that’s absurd. It’s like, that’s how humans – they get excited, and you yell, and you jump, and you flex. That’s what you do.”― Sue Bird
- “Going into your rookie year, whatever team does take you, and you get to camp, there’s going to be a lot of talent in that gym. You’re going to walk in a gym – and no matter what – there’s going to be a lot of talent.”― Sue Bird
- “I’m not a good one-on-one player.”― Sue Bird
- “Ten years from now, we’ll still be talked about as the first gay couple that ESPN had in ‘The Body Issue.’ You might not realize, in the moment, the impact that something like that can have. Every now and then, when you talk to people and hear the reactions, maybe we helped somebody.”― Sue Bird
- “At the end of the day, you have to put yourself first.”― Sue Bird
- “In my mind, women’s basketball players are an untapped resource.”― Sue Bird
