The Team USA women’s national team is getting a new managing director, as Sue Bird has agreed to the role for the 2028 Olympic cycle, per Chantel Jennings and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Bird has had an illustrious career in the basketball world that has included five gold medals in the Olympics and four World Cup titles for Team USA.
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Bird first debuted in professional basketball with the Seattle Storm after being picked No. 1 overall in the 2002 WNBA Draft. She would spend her entire career with the Storm until her retirement at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.
After averaging 14.4 points, six assists, and 1.7 steals per game during her first season in the WNBA, she would finish No. 2 in Rookie of the Year voting to future Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings. It was still enough to earn WNBA First Team honors and an All-Star selection that season.
Over the course of her professional basketball career, Bird would amass 13 All-Star nods, eight All-WNBA team selections, and four championships.
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Bird has known success for most of her basketball career, but was also faced with adversity shortly after starting her tenure at the University of Connecticut.
Eight games into her freshman year, Bird tore her ACL and lost that year of eligibility, given the number of games played.
She came back in a major way for her sophomore season, leading the Huskies to a 36-1 record that ended with winning the 2000 NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball tournament.
The next season ended with a loss in the Final Four, but Bird’s senior year at UConn proved to be a precursor for what would turn into a legendary basketball career.
Bird led her school to a 39-0 record to win another championship, the Wade Trophy, the Honda Sports Award, and the Naismith Award, given to the college player of the year.
In this next chapter of her career, Bird will look to continue her basketball success and win another gold medal, but in a different capacity with Team USA. The squad in 2028 may feature past teammates of Bird, as well as many new faces who have been a part of the recent wave of success and star power taking over women’s basketball.
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