← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Sue Bird on Caitlin Clark’s passing game, podcasting & more | Interview
00:14:34
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- [00:00]
Host
How can you free your team from time consuming office tasks? Amazon Business empowers leaders to not only streamline purchasing, but better support their teams. Smart business buying tools enable buyers to find and purchase items fast so they can focus on strategy and growth. It's time to free up your teams and focus on your future. Learn more about the technology, insights and Support available@AmazonBusiness.com when Pro Defensive end Cam.
- [00:24]
Jordan
Jordan isn't running after quarterbacks, he's running his own businesses. He sat down with Microsoft's Jessica Hawke to learn how AI can help as a football player.
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Host
There.
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Jordan
We're really focused on the X's and nos.
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Host
It's fun because it's a strategy game as well and I think that transitions well into the business world.
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Sue Bird
There's so much data underlying every single thing that you're doing in your business and having a way to unify all that data. This is like electricity. This is a major platform shift and I think we're all learning together.
- [00:50]
Jordan
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- [02:17]
Host
Welcome back to no off season. It is June, which means it's Pride Month. And we are continuing our series of interviews with some of the fiercest out and proud figures in women's basketball. And we are so excited to be joined by the one and only Sue Bird. Thank you so much for being here, Sue.
- [02:34]
Sue Bird
Yeah, thanks for having me.
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Host
Of course. Now I know our listeners know who you are, but just in case you're considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history, you were drafted number one by the Seattle Storm back in 2002, and you played your entire career there, bringing you to four WNBA championships. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Five time gold medals as well. I'm sure there is a shelf somewhere, maybe a bookcase, maybe a room filled with all of your accolades, just like hanging on walls and such.
- [03:04]
Sue Bird
Overall.
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Host
Also went to UConn, got some championships there, racked up too, and then officially retired in 2022. But let's just be real. You haven't really fully stepped away from the game. You are still very involved in your retirement and one of the biggest things that you've been doing since, of course, we're very excited about it. Podcasting. You've inserted your voice in a new way into the world of women's basketball. A touc, which you coach with your partner, Megan Rapinoe, which we adore. I was at the Valkyries Practice center, the Sephora Performance Practice center show during NBA All Star Weekend, and y' all showed out. It was hilarious. It was good. It was awesome. And then most recently, Bird's Eye View, which is more of a solo venture in which you're talking about women's hoops. And I've been talking a lot. So I'm now gonna ask you a question, which is when you think about the media landscape right now, we know there's been a boom. There are a lot of people that are trying to get into this conversation, that are inserting themselves into this conversation, which is great. We want to grow this space and the way that it's being talked about when it comes to women's hoops. But I wanted to ask you, you're a former player, you know what it was like when it was scratching to get people at your practices or at your games. And now everyone wants to get in there. What do you see in the media landscape right now when it comes to women's basketball?
- [04:25]
Sue Bird
I mean, obviously a ton of growth. Which is. Which is, like you said, something we always wanted. You know, it wasn't that we didn't have any coverage. It was just we didn't have enough. And now that that's starting to enter the picture, I always kind of call it where I've landed on this is I refer to it as like an ecosystem. And I think what happened is as the WNBA kind of kaboomed in the last year or two, this ecosystem grew and more people were coming into it, but we didn't have a balance. We didn't have enough people who really understood the league, knew the league knew its history, knew why certain would happen, why certain things wouldn't, and had a true understanding. And I think that's where I come into play. Not just myself, other former players who were doing it, people like yourselves who have been in women's basketball. It's important to balance that ecosystem and to have an understanding, because with all the new and like the influx of the people who are new to women's basketball, they were getting some of the narratives wrong. Some of them were just off. And then it kind of took on a life of its own at times. And again, I'm going to be repetitive with it, but there wasn't something to counteract it. There wasn't a balance. And I think the more that starts to increase, those of us who really know the game start to get, you know, larger platforms, it can, you know, it can all exist. Because you know what? Sadly, in our world today, you do need the hot take, you do need the wrong take. You need to have these conversations to really get to the bottom of things. But what was missing was some of the accuracy.
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Host
There you go. And I imagine that that's what you want to bring with a bird's eye view. Like, first and foremost, anyone that can get Jackie Young to talk for over an hour. Applause Applaud. I've been enjoying this content, but particularly the accuracy of allowing players to tell their stories themselves and be able to provide that perspective themselves. Is that the impetus of why you launch your podcast, to be able to give that lane? Is that one of the things that you remember missing as a player or even hearing in the ecosystem from players to say, man, I really wish I could talk to a former player as opposed to a media member, because, let's be real, I've interviewed Kate Martin. She was way more open with you than she was with me, but understandably, because you know what she's going through as a former pro, as a former, you know, big time collegiate Player. That is a different vibe. Is that one of the things that Bird's eye view wants to address?
- [06:46]
Sue Bird
Yeah, partly. I think some of it was just actually, a lot of what I said about ecosystem was more so, you know, pertinent to A Touch More. That's kind of how A Touch More got started. And then as we were doing that show, we talk about all different sports across the board, but obviously wnba, women's basketball is something we tap into. And I just found that I wanted to go deeper, I wanted to talk about more. And then really what I'm finding now that I'm actually doing it is what you're saying. I really love having these conversations with players. You know, I do think there's an element of being a former player I'm able to disarm in a different way. But I also know these players know I'm not trying to do any gotcha moments. I'm not trying to catch him in anything. I'm just trying to have, like, a real conversation. And I do think it gives them a chance to really talk about things and to have somebody who can connect, can relate and hopefully leave space for them to tell their side. So I've really been enjoying it. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I have a couple of minutes on each side of the interview where I get to just, you know, talk about the specific basketball things I want to talk about. Sometimes it's players, teams, themes, whatever it is, but for the most part, it's really letting these players just kind of have. Have that space.
- [07:51]
Host
I'm happy you talked about the gotcha moments, because I feel like that is something. Ben, we talked to Candace Parker a little bit. Right. About the gentle commentating. I'll let you follow up on this one because I also have this question.
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Ben
Yeah, I mean, I guess, you know, Candace talked about sometimes needing to take the white gloves off and the importance of that in the ecosystem, I guess. What are your thoughts on how media can do things differently or about the idea of being fair but critical when the situation warrants it?
- [08:16]
Sue Bird
Yeah, I think fair but critical is a great way of saying it. It's something that Candace and I really, all of us have talked about for a long time, how there wasn't a lot of critique. I mean, in fairness to everyone who's been around for, you know, 20 plus years, it felt too risky to critique at times because it was so easy for so long to jump on that critique and then paint it as if it was the whole league. Right. If you said One bad thing about one thing, that was it. The whole league had no value. And so it felt risky. But I do think we're now getting into this place where you can have both. I think the important part is fair. Fair, but crit. You have to have both. Kind of have to exist and like I said, no gotcha moments. But yeah, real conversations. And in real conversations comes, you know, shooting slumps, comes, you know, a game or a play. You look back, you wish you did something different. Maybe a relationship with a teammate, you wish you handled different. And those are just real conversations.
- [09:10]
Ben
You mentioned some of your conversations with players. I guess I'm curious about your conversations with ownership. We also know that you have an ownership stake in the Seattle Storm and obviously there's an ongoing CBA negotiation. Just what have you learned on being, you know, part of that side of the business? Have you talked to Ginny and, you know, Brahm, the other members of the Storm ownership group, about the ongoing negotiation? Just what do you bring to the mix in terms of those talks?
- [09:33]
Sue Bird
Yeah, I mean, of course I stay in touch with them. What I'm bringing is what I knew I was going to be able to bring the minute I became an owner. Gosh, almost, I guess around a year ago now. A year and some change, which is just I'm in the owner, I'm on the owner side of things, but I have a player's perspective and that's unique. And so I'm able to at times, you know, learn from the ownership group because I don't know that side as well, and then also provide a little bit of understanding or nuance on what a player might be thinking in certain situations or in certain moments. So I think it's just a really good balance. At the end of the day, I actually don't feel that much different being on this side as opposed to the player side, which is to say, we just want a great deal. We just want a great deal. We want this league to succeed, period, point blank.
- [10:19]
Ben
You know, in your list of accolades, I guess Xena forgot or did not mention your assist totals. And that is obviously something. We see some great passers. Courtney Vandersuit, obviously Taran or acl. Unfortunately, this past weekend, one of the all time great passers too. Caitlin Clark, though of the Fever is very much on pace. It seems like sue to chase down your record one day.
- [10:38]
Sue Bird
And these records have no. These records have no chance. They play way more games.
- [10:43]
Ben
They're all going to fall.
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Host
Do the math.
- [10:45]
Sue Bird
I played. I mean, this is where, you know, I don't want to get too caught up in the games played because it is what it is what it is. I don't feel away about it. Records are, you know, meant to be broken. I think I played like 34 games majority of my career. So these don't. Records don't get. They're on the clock. They better break those things in like.
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Ben
Five years, and they probably will. But I guess for her, like, what makes her so special as a passer, in your mind, what separates her as a passer compared to her peers?
- [11:08]
Sue Bird
I think Caitlin. Okay, listen, in order to be in this conversation, right, like, you're not even bringing her name up unless she has incredible court vision, unless she has like the type of vision where she's able to anticipate and read. What I would add to that and what I think separates her right on top of, again, all the qualities that most great passers have is just strength. Sometimes she's able to make passes not because she sees it, not because she's reading the defense. Yes, those things exist, but that's not why she's able to make the bet. She's able to make the pass because she can actually get it there. You know, I think that, yeah, the easiest way to see it is her full court passes, but they happen in the half court, too. Sometimes she'll be, you know, she'll have picked her dribble up, somebody will make a cut, and she still has the zip to get like a bounce back, you know, a backdoor pass off the bounce to her teammate on time. So I would just add that strength as like maybe a differentiator to maybe some of the other great passers we've seen.
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Host
And speaking of great passers, great players, one of the reasons you're here, you're launching a collectibles collection with ebay soon called Sue Bird's Dream Draft, which I know we. We've seen and heard about some of the players within that collection. But this is going to be your dream roster of rookie cards. Sign historic artifacts from WNBA past and present, and fans are going to have the opportunity to bid on it. My favorite thing is, is that some of the Items are priced at 97. In honor of the first year of the WNBA 1997. As you look through the. The players you chose, the type of items you chose. Cause there is a range here of how the WNBA is represented. Why did you choose the items that you chose? And then if there was one you could keep for yourself, which would it be?
- [12:51]
Sue Bird
Great question. Well, first of all, you mentioned the 97 cents. So all the item at 97 cents as a nod. So when the auction gets going June 10, you'll have a week to bid. They all start at 97 cents, which is just like a nice little. A nice little, like I said, nod. Yeah. It wasn't easy, like, picking because I had to, like, you know, get down to a number. But at the same time, it was so much fun to kind of sift through everything. So much fun to be able to honor, like, quite literally the past, the present, the future. Some of my favorites are the ones that are connected to moments like the La Sparks ticket that you can get, which is Lisa. Let is when Lisa first dunked. So the first dunk in WNBA history. So that was kind of a no brainer. I know. Ask ebay. That's one of the best, right? That's why they're the best. Awesome. So something like that. I think Diana's like, funk pop thing, doll, whatever. Funko pop. That was unique. So I thought that was fun. But honestly, if I'm gonna pick one that I get to keep, I'm keeping that Stewie Seattle jersey. That thing is like, it's immediately vintage. It's immediately rare. It's immediately like, we'll never, you know, she's gonna have a thousand more Liberty jerseys. This is it. The Storm jerseys are gonna run out at some point. So this makes it a little bit of a grail. It's like a grail. So Stewie Seattle jersey.
- [14:13]
Host
Oh, I like it. That's real. I. I think for me, the La Sparks ticket one was the easiest one that threw out that, like, grab my attention. Cause I'm like, first and foremost, those things don't exist anymore. Like, I just recently went to the Kendrick Lamar SZA concert and they like.
- [14:26]
Paige
Gave us this little.
- [14:27]
Host
Yeah, you saw, right? It's like on my phone. And when we walked in, they tried to give us like these little placards that are supposed to be commemorative, but it's like, meh, it's not the same as being able to see a ticket from a moment like that that, you know, no one else has. So this is really, really awesome that you're launching this. So go check it out today, Sue Birds Dream draft. Lots of cool items. Now, before we got some more questions, Ben. I know we gotta wrap it up.
- [14:53]
Ben
Yeah. Some rapid fire. Just two quickies. You mentioned playing with Stewie with that jersey. Here's another teammate, Diana Taurasi. She was on our show a few weeks ago and she mentioned that she Thinks one day Paige Beckers will be the best player in the wnba. Sue, what says you?
- [15:08]
Sue Bird
What was the question? How did she even get to that? Did you specifically ask it?
- [15:12]
Ben
No, she was reflecting on Paige's game and you know Diana, Diana's got a lot of takes, so as you well know.
- [15:17]
Sue Bird
Yeah, I certainly think Paige has the skillset to be one of the top players for sure. I mean, best in what year does it even matter? Everyone's going to have their preference. But I think what Paige. I think the thing that separates Paige is her efficiency. You saw it in college and you're seeing it now in the wnba. It's like something that's maintained so you know it's real no matter who the competition is. And this is the kind of league when you're efficient and you're on a team where you're going to get looks, it's going to take you a long way. So yeah, I've been enjoying watching Paige play. It was a bummer. She. She had her concussion. I was in Seattle when they played the Wings, so I was bummed I couldn't see her play. But yeah, I guess I'll let Dee live on that limb by herself for now.
- [15:52]
Ben
There you go.
- [15:53]
Host
I gotta end it on a positive note. We heard on a touch more you talking about the post from. I believe it was fruit slice when it comes to the WNBA's gayest teams. We appreciated that conversation.
- [16:05]
Sue Bird
Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [16:07]
Host
Interestingly enough, we also noticed you guys did not pick who you think is the gayest team in the wnba. It is Pride month. Happy Pride. Thoughts before you head out, Sue?
- [16:18]
Sue Bird
The gayest team. I don't even remember what the criteria was on that post.
- [16:23]
Host
All I know is that Jonquil Jones made us significant case for her team in the comments.
- [16:27]
Sue Bird
She did. I think she has a good point. I think she's a good point. It could be the New York Liberty. They own it. That's what I like about the players on that team. Stewie, J.J. tosh. So yeah, we'll go with them. Honestly, who cares, right?
- [16:40]
Host
It was fun. We all enjoyed it as fans.
- [16:43]
Sue Bird
It was fun.
- [16:43]
Host
Sue, thank you so much for joining us. That was a lot of fun.
- [16:46]
Sue Bird
Thanks. See you guys.
- [16:50]
Host
How can you free your team from time consuming office tasks? Amazon Business empowers leaders to not only streamline purchasing, but better support their teams. Smart business buying tools enable buyers to find and purchase items fast so they can focus on strategy and growth. It's time to free up your teams and focus on your future. Learn more about the technology, insights and Support available@AmazonBusiness.com hi, it's Paige from Giggly Squad.
- [17:14]
Paige
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