It may be Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird’s final season, but she’s not going out without breaking a few more WNBA marks on her way out the door.
The 41-year-old point guard became the oldest player in WNBA history to record a playoff double-double after garnering 18 points and 10 assists on Sunday in Seattle’s 97-84 victory over the Washington Mystics. Both of those totals were also season highs for Bird, who helped the Storm sweep the Mystics out of the playoffs as they advance to the semifinals for the third time since 2018.
Sue Bird just made this place erupt!
A perfect pass to Tina Charles followed by a steal and bucket.
Storm by 13 because of it, two minutes away from the 2nd round pic.twitter.com/21lHLGjtqS
— Niko Tamurian (@NikoTamurian) August 21, 2022
“Vintage Sue,” Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said. “There’s something about these moments that makes me understand why she’s so great. You see her just kick a different gear mentally and physically.”
Bird broke the mark she herself set when she was 39 years old in Seattle’s 2020 WNBA Finals win over the Las Vegas Aces.
Per stathead.com, only three NBA players have ever recorded a double-double in the playoffs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and John Stockton.
With the victory, the Storm moves on to the semifinals, where they’ve never been beaten. All four times that Seattle has made it this far before, they went on to win the WNBA championship.
We’ll see if Bird is able to end her storybook basketball career with one more title, but in the meantime, the basketball world shared their reactions to her record-breaking performance on Sunday.
WHAT A PERFORMANCE. https://t.co/Y3cI0bruji
— Mike Schubert (@Schubes17) August 21, 2022
The MF GOAT 🐐🐐🐐🐐 https://t.co/y9APafHQWD
— Malia Francois (@MaliaFrancois1) August 21, 2022
— Bristol Pete (@BhrisMarquard) August 21, 2022
⚡️ SUUUEEEATTLE ⚡️ https://t.co/ULTnI9Cb6l pic.twitter.com/eRSdTu93yP
— Climate Pledge Arena (@ClimateArena) August 21, 2022
What they said ⬇️ https://t.co/LSKLcpIWya
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) August 22, 2022
She’s just different https://t.co/7KE7eSyXSZ
— Laken James (@lakenjames5) August 21, 2022
[ESPN]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.