Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are two names almost synonymous with the WNBA. While Taurasi leads the league all-time in points, Bird is at the top in assists numbers. After the latter’s retirement in 2022, Taurasi became the oldest player in the W. As two women who spent almost the entirety of their long careers together, the WNBA legends share a close relationship.
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Bird attested to this in an interview with iHeart Radio, where she was asked what DT was really like as a teammate and a friend.
Bird chose to share a story from the 2004 Athens Olympics to answer the question. Taurasi and Bird, who were both first-timers on the team, knew their playing time would increase from the next editions of the tournament. Dawn Staley was set to retire and that would open up guard spots.
Therefore, their plan at the time was just to learn from their vets and have as much fun as possible as young rookies.
Bird and Taurasi got a chance to play the very first game of the competition against New Zealand, which they knew could be one of the few opportunities they get that year. Just as they had sat down in the locker room to get changed, Taurasi tapped on her shoulder.
Bird said,
“We walk in the locker room, you know, you just normal locker room stuff, put in your uniform on, whatever it is, go to put your shoes on. She [Taurasi] was like, she taps me. She’s like, ‘Oh no!’ I’m like, ‘What?’
“She was like, ‘I brought two left shoes.’ I’m like, ‘What!’ Like, ‘What do you mean?'”
Taurasi, in her excitement, had brought two left shoes with her. Of course, she still had a solid game despite her footwear malfunction. She even led the team in rebounds with 9. Bird, to her credit, tallied 3 assists.
Interestingly, that wasn’t the only story the Storm legend shared about her college teammate. The other one took place when the team went to play in Russia, and the Mercury legend had somehow forgotten her jersey at home.
“We’re in Russia. We get to the gym. I’m actually not playing this game. For whatever reason, I’m not. It’s like I’m not even dressed. Maybe I’m hurt, who knows? We get to the range. She was like, ‘Oh my god, you have to go back to my apartment. I forgot my jersey.'”
Bird added that she had an extremely long list of stories where Taurasi had done “sh*t like that.” The two were college teammates at UConn and won an NCAA title together. So, Bird knows Taurasi and her forgetful nature all too well.
Bird and Taurasi share a history
Two of the WNBA’s most celebrated players actually started out as teammates. In 2000, the duo played their first official game for the Huskies as they beat the Georgia Bulldogs 99-70. A lot of success followed as they made the Final Four twice and won a championship in 2002, following which Bird declared for the WNBA.
Taurasi was not far behind. She won two more NCAA titles (meaning she had a threepeat), before following her former teammate into the WNBA. Both were 1st overall picks. Bird, in 2002, was selected by the Seattle Storm, and Taurasi, in 2004, went to Phoenix to join the Mercury.
The two have a rich history in the league as well. In fact, the first time they faced off in the WNBA, they both dropped 22 points.
They’ve had an incredibly balanced rivalry throughout their careers. Bird leads the regular season head-to-head matchups 25-20, while Taurasi leads the postseason matchups 8-6. Bird has 4 titles while Taurasi has 3. Referring to this deficit, Taurasi joked about how she stayed with the national team till she managed to get one Olympic Gold more than Bird (6 to her 5).
A healthy rivalry that started off as a friendship, and genuine love for each other is one of the many reasons Bird and Taurasi are still very close to this day, In fact, they even had a brief stint as TV Show co-hosts, when they joined forces for the ‘Bird and Taurasi Show.’
