The WNBA officially has a player who has been immortalized with a statue. While it is common to attend MLB, NFL or NBA games and see a statue of a famous former player outside the stadium, no WNBA player had been given the honor until Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025.
Former Seattle Storm superstar Sue Bird has been forever enshrined outside of the Climate Pledge Arena. She becomes the first WNBA player ever to be honored with a statue, while her No. 10 jersey was previously retired by Seattle.
Bird played in the WNBA for 20 seasons and retired in 2022 as the league's all-time leader in assists, seasons played and games played. Bird will likely pave the way for the other franchises to honor their all-time greats, but she will forever be the first former WNBA player to get her own statue.
Here is more on Bird's statue.
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Sue Bird statue unveiling
Bird's statue was unveiled on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. There was a press conference about the unveiling in the morning, followed by the ceremony itself, which began at 1 p.m. ET. Former coaches and teammates gave several speeches before the statue was revealed and Bird herself gave some words to the Seattle crowd. The statue itself will sit outside of Climate Pledge Arena.
The moment! Immortal @S10Bird @seattlestorm @WNBA pic.twitter.com/C22FkySUcz
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) August 17, 2025
The Sue Bird statue is a thing of beauty 🤩#ForeverSue pic.twitter.com/iJd9G1V5wy
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 17, 2025
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Sue Bird statue details
The statue stands eight feet tall. It is a 650 lb. sculpture by Julie Rotblatt-Amrany. The sculptor was also responsible for the statues for Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Dave Niehaus which are also in Seattle outside of T-Mobile Park.
Bird specifically picked out the jersey and shoes that she wanted to be immortalized in. “It’s the biggest ‘I told you so’ that any of us could ever have in our lives,” Bird said. “Because we knew. We knew what we had. We believed in it. We just needed other people to see it. And they did. And of course, it goes ka-boom.”
Seattle Storm President and CEO Alisha Valavanis said about the statue, "Sue’s legacy isn’t just written in championships — it’s woven into the fabric of Seattle. Her leadership transcended basketball and helped shape a cultural shift — one that expanded who gets to lead, who gets seen and who gets celebrated. This statue is more than a tribute. It’s a promise that what Sue stands for will keep rising, and young people, especially girls, will always see themselves in greatness.”
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Sue Bird statue pose
During her speech, Bird brought up the pose for the statue. She revealed that she was able to pick the pose, and she considered a nice jumpshot. But, Bird elaborated that she went with a layup, despite not being known for them during her career. She said that both her first points in the WNBA and her last points of her career were scored on a layup in Seattle, so it only seemed fitting to capture that with the statue.
Sue Bird 🦅 on why this pose for her statue @S10Bird pic.twitter.com/HR1b0gnzXr
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) August 17, 2025
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Sue Bird WNBA records
Bird has several WNBA records, even three years after she hung up her basketball shoes.
- Most seasons played: 20
- Games played: 580
- Assists: 3,234
- Minutes played: 18,080
- All-Star appearances: 13
- Turnovers: 1,393
Sue Bird WNBA Awards and accolades
- 4-time WNBA Champion
- 5-time Olympic gold medalist
- 4-time FIBA World Cup gold medalist
- 13-time WNBA All-Star
- No. 10 retired by Storm
- 5-time All-WNBA First Team
- 3-time All-WNBA Second Team
- 3-time WNBA assist leader
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Sue Bird stats
Seattle Storm
| Year | Games Played | Points Per Game | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game |
| 2002 | 32 | 14.4 | 2.6 | 6.0 |
| 2003 | 34 | 12.4 | 3.3 | 6.5 |
| 2004 | 34 | 12.9 | 3.1 | 5.4 |
| 2005 | 30 | 12.1 | 2.4 | 5.9 |
| 2006 | 34 | 11.4 | 3.0 | 4.8 |
| 2007 | 29 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 4.9 |
| 2008 | 33 | 14.1 | 2.5 | 5.1 |
| 2009 | 31 | 12.8 | 2.5 | 5.8 |
| 2010 | 33 | 11.1 | 2.7 | 5.8 |
| 2011 | 34 | 14.7 | 2.9 | 4.9 |
| 2012 | 29 | 12.2 | 2.9 | 5.3 |
| 2013 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014 | 33 | 10.6 | 2.2 | 4.0 |
| 2015 | 27 | 10.3 | 2.3 | 5.4 |
| 2016 | 34 | 12.8 | 2.9 | 5.8 |
| 2017 | 30 | 10.6 | 2.0 | 6.6 |
| 2018 | 31 | 10.1 | 1.7 | 7.1 |
| 2019 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | 11 | 9.8 | 1.7 | 5.2 |
| 2021 | 30 | 10.0 | 2.6 | 5.3 |
| 2022 | 31 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 6.0 |
| Total | 580 | 11.7 | 2.5 | 5.6 |
UConn Huskies
| Year | Games | Points per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game |
| 1998-99 | 8 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 3.1 |
| 1999-00 | 37 | 10.9 | 2.5 | 4.3 |
| 2000-01 | 34 | 10.9 | 2.6 | 5.0 |
| 2001-02 | 39 | 14.4 | 3.4 | 5.9 |
| 1998-02 | 118 | 11.7 | 2.8 | 5.0 |
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Is Sue Bird related to Larry Bird?
Although they share the same last name, Sue and Larry Bird are not related past that. Bird has joked in the past that she told people they were related when she was growing up, but the relation remains purely fictional.
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