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4-Time WNBA Champion 's Sue Bird said a touching farewell to a cheering chorus on Sunday as he played his last regular season home game after two decades of blockbusters with the Seattle Storm.
A record crowd of 18,100 gathered at her Climate Pledge her arena and shouted "Thank you, Sue." The former No. 1 overall draft pick got a curtain call en route to the playoffs.
"I didn't prepare anything for this moment. I don't know if I'm ready for it," the five-time Olympic gold medalist told fans.
19}"Right now, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Relentless Aja Wilson leads Las Vegas Aces to 89-81 win over Storm to claim #1 seed in playoffs It wasn't the goodbye Byrd wanted when he set out to be.
Bird played solid defense, she tallied nine points, six assists and four rebounds.
"All the nights you were telling me to shoot more – I'm sorry, tonight must have been one of those nights," Byrd joked to fans.
"It's not over yet."
Playoff spot
Storm already has a playoff spot, so she has another chance to play in Seattle However, fans treated the match as Bird's farewell. After winning a record 13 WNBA All-Star selections, the franchise.
Young fans sat courtside when her 41-year-old guard I tried to give Bird a flower before inbounding the ball. Seen by World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe.
The women's professional basketball noblewoman, who has been with the WNBA in all but five of her 26 years in the league, told reporters, "Female athletes have to fight for scraps." I hope not," he said.
"The WNBA has reached a turning point in the last few years," Byrd said. "One of the things we can always expect from her is that the product on the floor will always be great."
A year ago, Seattle fans urged Bird not to retire, "And she's a year," I chanted. At this moment, she began to stay in the game.
But Bird, who thanked the crowd on Sunday, revealed that she left everything she had on the court.
} "I heard a chant of 'Thank you, Sue,'" she said. "Thankfully, it's not an 'another year' chant."
