Tag: Sue Bird

Sue Bird has zero concerns about Angel Reese’s shooting percentage and neither should you

Sue Bird isn’t worried about Angel Reese’s game, and you shouldn’t be either. Here’s why.

Despite breaking several WNBA and rookie records, Angel Reese‘s first season in the league hasn’t come without scrutiny. Many people have commented about Reese’s shooting, dinging her for a less-than-stellar percentage. But WNBA legend Sue Bird isn’t worried.

During a recent episode of Sue’s podcast with Megan Rapinoe — A Touch More — the former hooped discussed several topics at length, including the records that Reese broke this season. With a season-ending injury, Angel won’t get to continue building on those records.

However, when healthy, she can work on building up her offensive bag, making her a better pro. Bird seems to agree with that notion, and here’s why she isn’t concerned about the low number (See the clip below and the 15:58 mark of the YouTube video):

“What I find most fascinating about her game is her shooting percentage, and this is why. She shoots something like high thirties…The thing about her game, though…this is in her control.”

“She’s not a guard who’s coming off down screens and coming off flares…like a lot of things have to go your way to get a good shot, or you have to make things go your way to get a good shot…I think for Angel, what’s interesting is she kinda knows what shot she’s gonna get…”

“These shots are coming — at the clip they’re coming, in the places that they’re coming, no matter what. Every single game. Pretty consistent. So, all she really needs to do is bump up her shooting percentage by, like, three, four, [or] five points, which is totally doable. And all of a sudden we’re looking at a kid — instead of averaging like 13 [points] and 13 [rebounds], it’s like 18 [points] and 13 [rebounds]…”

https://twitter.com/vanshaym/status/1834073937283543208?s=46&t=s5N-JgxcI5k9IbFhklucXA

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Sue Bird revealed 3 WNBA teams she wouldn’t want to see in the playoffs, including Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever

“They’re just ramming it down people’s throats.

The WNBA playoffs are right around the corner, and Sue Bird says there are three teams she wouldn’t want to see during that stretch, including Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

Our weekly WNBA power rankings mentioned how Indiana is officially on sleeper watch and could potentially upset a top team come playoff time. It seems Bird sees what we’ve seen — the Fever have the potential to be dangerous.

During a recent episode on her podcast A Touch More with Megan Rapinoe, Sue named three teams she would think twice about once the WNBA playoffs arrived. Those teams included Kahleah Copper and the Phoenix Mercury, Gabby Williams and the Seattle Storm and Caitlin and the Fever. Here’s what she shared about Indy (See the 13:06 mark of the YouTube video below):

“What I’ve learned in my WNBA experience is pace of play trumps physicality. It trumps size. It can trump experience…what I see in Caitlin, what I see in Kelsey Mitchell — they’re just ramming it down people’s throats. And it’s really hard. It can have your head spinning…

“Kelsey Mitchell’s balling. Caitlin continuing to impress and just — she’s gonna break records nonstop for the next couple of years. It’s just gonna be a constant record break…”

“I think it was more just getting used to the hits and the physicality, and what refs are going to call and what they’re not gonna call. And you’ve seen her adjust in that way, too…she’s definitely getting used to it, which is, you know, trouble for everybody else —which is why I don’t want to see her.”

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Juju Watkins is building a ‘college superteam,’ says Sue Bird

Sue Bird knows what’s up at USC.

Making memories in the French Riviera, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird go on the air from Sport Beach in Cannes, France. The two decorated American athletes talk all things women’s sports and share the stage with USC star hooper Juju Watkins.

They talk about the growth of the game, what it means to be in the spotlight, and how USC women’s basketball is building a college super team at Southern California. Sue Bird knows what’s going on in Los Angeles, with coach Lindsay Gottlieb surrounding JuJu with elite talent. Kiki Iriafen has come in from Stanford, and Talia Von Oelhoffen has moved south from the Pacific Northwest and Oregon State. The two Pac-12 stars who played against JuJu last season are now teammates of USC’s team leader. Having three players with so much upside is great in itself, but the Trojans also bring back Rayah Marshall for rim protection and rebounding, plus the nation’s top-ranked incoming recruiting class. There is so much to love about USC. Sue Bird can see what’s unfolding:

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Caitlin Clark got very excited about possibly breaking a Sue Bird WNBA All-Star Game record for a hysterical reason

Caitlin Clark sounded very excited to break another Sue Bird record.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark brought her A-game to this year’s WNBA All-Star Game, and she got close to breaking another big league record during the contest’s third quarter.

After landing nine assists in the game at that point, Clark broke the WNBA rookie record for assists in an All-Star Game and got close to matching Sue Bird’s all-time record for assists in an All-Star Game with 11.

As soon as ESPN broadcaster Ryan Ruocco told Clark about how close she was breaking Bird’s all-time record during a mid-game interview, she immediately got fired up.

Why you ask? Clark joked that she was now intent on breaking it because Bird had been talking trash to her on the sideline while the latter was in the stands.

“It’s Sue’s? OK, then I’m breaking it,” Clark told Ruocco. “She’s been talking crap all game.”

Clark literally just broke one of Bird’s records the other day in her stellar performance against the Dallas Wings, and she sure sounded motivated to break another for a delightful reason in this very funny mid-game interview.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Caitlin Clark jolted past Sue Bird’s record for the least amount of WNBA games to reach this mind-melting milestone

Caitlin Clark officially passed Sue Bird on this incredible WNBA record list.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark had an absolutely incredible performance against the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night, even though her team lost.

Outside of breaking the WNBA record for assists in a single game, Clark also passed Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird on the fastest track for a WNBA player to hit 400 points and 200 assists in their career.

It took Bird 33 games to reach that mark in her historic career, and Clark has managed to reach it in 26 games.

That’s simply unreal for Clark to make such history in such a short amount of time, as she’s in the driver’s seat right now for WNBA Rookie of the Year as she continues to amaze with broken records like this.

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Sue Bird praised Chennedy Carter as a future star in a resurfaced NSFW TikTok video

Sue Bird thought the world of Chennedy Carter a LONG time ago.

By no means are the Chicago Sky a real heavyweight in the WNBA just yet.

They have a lot of work to do before they’re ready to contend. However, with young pillars like tenacious forward Angel Reese and electric guard Chennedy Carter, it sure seems like the future is very bright in Chicago.

READ MORE: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese really might be the new Magic Johnson and Larry Bird

After Carter’s recent turn toward star-like play — she’s scored at least 20 points in four of her last five games at the time of publishing — WNBA fans started digging back into the archives for older thoughts about the former No. 4 overall pick. One video on TikTok features Sue Bird singing the praises of Carter to Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor all the way back in 2020 when the Sky guard was still just a rookie.

These are quite the compliments to receive from an all-time great.

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

@khisports

Sue was so baffled when she found out she had to guard her during the team usa tour 😭 #foryou #wnba #fyp #womensbasketball #ncaaw #womensports #chennedycarter #chicagosky #suebird #dianataurasi #pennytaylor

♬ original sound – khisports

Listen, Carter still has so much to improve upon before she’ll get this kind of reputation from everyone. But for Bird to highlight her years before her unofficial breakout began shows that the legend unsurprisingly knows her ball. It’s also worth noting that Bird said this while knowing that the New York Liberty’s superstar shooter, Sabrina Ionescu, came from the same draft class (2020) as Carter.

That is what we like to call conviction in your take.

Sue Bird thinks by 2026 the WNBA could be ‘dramatically different’

The WNBA’s CBA is inching closer to the opt-out period and a new media rights’ deal is looming.

The WNBA is growing faster than ever, with two new franchises being announced within less than a year of each other. From rookie guard Caitlin Clark receiving a $28 million sponsorship deal from Nike to skyrocketing viewership to legends like Sue Bird becoming an owner in her beloved Seattle Storm, the stage is being set for a wild next few years for the league.

The WNBA’s CBA is inching closer to the opt-out period and a new media rights deal is looming. The WNBA and the Players Association each have the option, exercisable by providing written notice on or before Nov. 1, 2024, to terminate the CBA effective on Oct. 31, 2025, or, if later, on the day following the final playoff game of the 2025 season.

The WNBA currently earns around $60 million annually from its media rights deal, but a new deal could draw a much bigger amount. WNBA commissioner Kathy Engelbert believes the league could at least double the media rights fee.]

Bird weighed in on what a new media rights deal could mean.

“But once we see this media rights deal, assuming it’s going to be what we all think it’s going to be, you’re going to see things dramatically change in the WNBA,” Bird told The Associated Press. “It will be a whole new world. We have a hard salary cap somewhere in the $1.4 million range. But once the money gets interjected and maybe there’s a soft cap — now we’re talking. The media rights contract is up this year. The CBA has an opt-out next year — so by 2026, it could be dramatically different.”

As more money is infused into the league and the players, the bigger changes we will begin to see and those changes could be implemented into the new CBA. A few changes expected to be seen in a new iteration of the CBA include charter flights and a salary cap increase, which, in turn, will see higher salaries.

As with any growth, there will be growing pains, as we are now seeing with the investigation into the Las Vegas Aces players’ most recent sponsorship deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. But growing pains don’t have to last a long time and the more flexible the owners and league are with the increased interest, the better it will be for the league, the players and the fans.

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4-time WNBA champion Sue Bird joins Seattle Storm ownership group

Bird played 20 seasons with the Storm and is now part of the ownership group of her beloved team.

Force 10 Hoops, which owns the Seattle Storm, recently announced that WNBA legend Sue Bird has joined its ownership group. Bird played 19 seasons with the Storm, and her career included four WNBA championships, 13 All-Star Game appearances, eight All-WNBA teams and five Olympic gold medals. She retired at the end of 2022 after an illustrious career, both in college and the WNBA, but her business ventures were only getting started.

“As a player, I poured my heart into every game for the Seattle Storm, and now, as part of the ownership group, I am thrilled to continue contributing to the growth of the game,” said Bird. “Investing in women’s sports isn’t just about passion; it’s smart business. It’s about recognizing the immense talent, dedication, and market potential our league has always had.”

This is the second professional sports team Bird has invested in, the first being the NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2022. Bird and her wife, legendary United States women’s national team soccer player Megan Rapinoe, launched the production company A Touch More in 2022. In 2021, she co-founded the media production company Togethxr, alongside U.S. national team player Alex Morgan, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim and Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel.

The ownership announcement comes less than a week after the Storm unveiled their new center for basketball performance, the “first dedicated WNBA practice facility designed and built from the ground up.” It is a $64 million, 50,000-square-foot practice facility and team headquarters.

“Together, we’re not just shaping the future of basketball, but also paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive society,” Bird said.

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Rapinoe and Bird’s production company announces first scripted series

The legendary ex-pro athletes will serve as executive producers on ‘Cleat Cute’

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s production company, A Touch More, has announced it is developing its first scripted TV series.

Bird and Rapinoe will serve as executive producers on an adaptation of the best-selling novel “Cleat Cute” from author Meryl Wilsner.

According to a press release, the novel “follows a young soccer player as she juggles being the new rookie player, her goals of making the national team, and a budding romance with her team captain.”

Bird and Rapinoe added: “We are thrilled to be working with Future Shack [Entertainment] to bring Meryl Wilsner’s wonderful book to life. Having spent most of our lives on teams, we want to celebrate the ways in which relationships, both romantic and platonic, are organically created through sports.

“‘Cleat Cute’ will not shy away from the messiness, occasional frustration, and undeniable beauty that come with loving the game and the players within it.”

“Cleat Cute” will be the first foray into scripted TV for A Touch More, which Bird and Rapinoe founded in 2022.

A Touch More was also part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcast “Pink Card,” a series that followed women in Iran fighting for the right to watch soccer.

The company was founded with the aim of amplifying stories from  underrepresented communities, including LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and women.

Rapinoe retired last year at the end of a decorated career in which she became one of the all-time greats for the U.S. women’s national team. Similarly, Bird retired in 2022 after becoming one of the WNBA’s greatest ever players.

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Why Sue Bird is predicting JuJu Watkins will be one of the best college basketball players ever

Sue Bird is saying the quiet parts out loud. Everybody needs a ticket to the JuJu Watkins show.

Remember in January of this year when I said JuJu Watkins isn’t Caitlin Clark, but she’s not far behind? Well, it’s time for another reminder that while the whole country is seemingly going wild over Caitlin (as they should), JuJu Watkins is quietly putting on a freshman campaign for the ages. Her game is getting so hard to ignore that Sue Bird is now watching.

I get it. Caitlin Clark is THE moment and the proverbial measuring stick for women’s college basketball dominance. Still, since the beginning of the season, I have been saying that this year’s freshman class is built differently. That class also includes a one-player wrecking crew named JuJu Watkins.

In case you aren’t familiar with her game, JuJu has 13 Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards, 10 games of 30 or more points, made this week’s women’s basketball starting five and recently dropped 51 points in a game that earned her immediate Caitlin Clark comparisons.

SHE IS A FRESHMAN DOING THIS SORCERY ON A BASKETBALL COURT.

Sue Bird seems to understand how unique JuJu’s game is because she also brought up JuJu during a recent podcast episode where she discussed Caitlin.

Per Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, this is the nugget Sue dropped:

“There are other players right now in college basketball where you can feel excitement. JuJu Watkins is killing it at USC and could arguably end up being one of the best players ever. I’m not saying that loosely; it’s because of the way she is starting her career.”