Sue Bird casts her vote for the “GOAT” and “baby GOAT” of the WNBA originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest
While the Seattle Storm are well-represented in the WNBA’s list of Top 25 players in league history that was announced earlier this week to celebrate the WNBA’s 25th anniversary, there’s a certain Storm player that is also being recognized on social media as the Greatest of All-Time.
Basketball fans are now able to participate in the WNBA’s “Vote for the GOAT” campaign that runs through Sept. 19.
Former Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers wing Detlef Schrempf already got his vote in for the one and only Sue Bird.
But as many think of Bird as the best to ever lace ’em up, especially considering the longevity of her impressive career, Bird has someone else in mind.
Bird is among the WNBA’s 25 candidates announced for fans to vote on as being crowned the GOAT. But she believes it’s her former UConn teammate and now Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi who should receive the honor.
“There’s no question in my mind who it is,” Bird told the media Tuesday ahead of the Storm’s victory over the Washington Mystics. “I know that there might be some bias there, which I totally own — maybe even generational bias just because I’ve been able to witness her firsthand, been her teammate [at the University of Connecticut and with USA Basketball], been her opponent. Just the way in which she’s played the game.
“I’ve always said it’s really what separates her, I think. Yes, it’s the amazing play. Yes, it’s the championships and the winning, of course. But the other two things are her style and the swag with which she did it and the last thing — which to me is the most important — is the fact that she’s been able to make her teammates better. There’s something about her style that’s infectious.”
Whoever’s on the court with her raises their game. I think for me that’s why she’s the GOAT.
– Sue Bird on Diana Taurasi
And who does Bird believe is a GOAT in the making?
Her current teammate, of course, Breanna Stewart.
Or as Bird puts it, she’s “a baby GOAT.”
“Stewie is a little bit of a baby GOAT because she has a long way to go, but if you took her name off and took her age off, you’d think it was a hell of a career and she’s just getting started. And obviously, I could talk about Lauren [Jackson] all day. But it doesn’t stop there — I’ve played with Lisa [Leslie], Tina [Thompson]. The list goes on and on, so I’ve been really lucky.”
Have you voted for the GOAT yet? You can vote for your all-time favorite WNBA player right here.
Next up for Bird and the Storm, they will visit the Los Angeles Sparks Sunday at 6:00p.m. PT.