MIES (Switzerland) - Five-time Olympic champion and four-time FIBA Basketball World Cup winner Sue Bird of USA is being enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Bird will be inducted at a ceremony on April 21 in Berlin and will be joined by Dirk Nowitzki (Germany); Céline Dumerc (France); Hedo Türkoğlu (Türkiye); Clarisse Machanguana (Mozambique); Wang Zhizhi (China); Ismenia Pauchard (Chile) and Ludwik Miętta-Mikołajewicz (Poland) who is inducted as a coach.
A renowned point guard and iconic figure in women's hoops globally across a significant part of the modern era, Bird was the heartbeat of an all-conquering USA side for almost two decades.
This is no better underlined than by her headline and epic haul of five consecutive Olympic gold medals - plus no fewer than four FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup titles.
Recognized as one of the leading lights in the rich and illustrious history of USA Basketball, Bird initially built her reputation with UConn where she was a two-time NCAA champion during 2000 and 2002. That team success also came alongside individual accolades including being named Naismith College Player of the Year.
Her global debut with USA came at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2002 in China. Bird helped her team see off fierce rivals Russia to take gold and she would go on to collect another three titles in 2010, 2014 and 2018. Only a rare setback at the 2006 edition for USA saw her having to settle for bronze.
The five successive Olympic titles and much talked about gold rush tipped off at the Athens Games in 2004. Bird was then on the top podium step for Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and also for Tokyo where she would play for the last time on the biggest stage. The five successive Olympic titles and much talked about gold rush tipped off at the Athens Games in 2004. Bird was then on the top podium step for Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and also for Tokyo where she would play for the last time on the biggest stage.
Fittingly, Bird was then crowned USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year for 2021.
The guard was also a serial winner at club level, lifting EuroLeague Women silverware five times - including a stunning four straight titles with storied Russian juggernauts, Sparta&K M.R Vidnoje.
Her sparkling resume was also decorated with four WNBA Championship titles - all attained with Seattle Storm where she spent her entire WNBA career. Bird was also named a WNBA All-Star an incredible 13-times - alongside being named to the All-WNBA First Team five times.
Her impact on the league was so significant that she was included as part of the WNBA's 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th Anniversary Teams, while Seattle have also retired her iconic number 10 jersey.
Since hanging up her game shoes, Bird has taken up a position as the first Managing Director of the USA Basketball Women's Team. She was also enshrined in both the Naismith Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025, and she now continues to elevate the women’s game as the Ambassador of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026.
Name | Sue Bird |
Category of inductee | (Player) Point guard |
Date of birth | 16 October 1980 |
Place of birth | Syosset, New York, United States of America |
Nationality | American |
Height | 1.75m, 5ft 9in |
Teams | UConn (1998–2002) Seattle Storm (2002-2022) Dynamo Moscow (2004-2006) Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje (2006-2011) UMMC Ekaterinburg (2011-2014) |
Club highlights | Five-time Russian League champion (2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014) Five-time FIBA EuroLeague Women champion (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013) Two-time FIBA SuperCup Women winner (2009, 2010) Two-time NCAA champion (2000, 2002) Four-time WNBA champion (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020) Commissioner's Cup champion (2021) |
National Team highlights | FIBA Women’s AmeriCup gold medallist (2007) FIBA Women’s World Cup bronze medallist (2006) Four-time FIBA Women’s World Cup gold medallist (2002, 2010, 2014, 2018) Five-time Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament gold medallist (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) |
Individual highlights | Two-time First Team All-Big East (2001, 2002) Wade Trophy (2002) Honda Sports Award (2002) Naismith College Player of the Year (2002) ESPY Award - Best Female College Athlete (2002) Senior CLASS Award (2002) USBWA Women's National Player of the Year (2002) AP College Player of the Year (2002) Big East Player of the Year (2002) All-American – USBWA, Kodak (2002) First Team All-American – AP (2002) Three-time Nancy Lieberman Award (2000, 2001, 2002) Thirteen-time WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022) Five-time All-WNBA First Team (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016) Three-time WNBA assists leader (2005, 2009, 2016) Three-time WNBA peak performer (2005, 2009, 2016) WNBA 10th Anniversary Team (2006) WNBA 15th Anniversary Team (2011) WNBA 20th Anniversary Team (2016) WNBA 25th Anniversary Team (2021) No. 10 retired by Seattle Storm USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year (2021) Inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame (2025) Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2025) |
FIBA