Sue Bird reflects on journey from UConn to the Hall of Fame

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Between jersey retirements and statue reveals, Sue Bird is quickly adapting to her new normal of reflecting and reminiscing on a historic career.

“To be honest, having them all in one year is probably the best thing that could happen,” Bird said at the Mohegan Sun on Friday. “Now as I sit here, I’m like totally relaxed… (and) I can really enjoy it.

“I think the difference with this Hall of Fame is that you’re doing it with others… The statue is like, all me. The street sign, all me. If you rewind a couple of years, jersey retirement, all me and that’s a lot. This feels like a breeze.”

The four-time WNBA champion noted the symmetry in returning to Connecticut as part of her journey into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She was surprised to find out this would be the first time that her wife, Megan Rapinoe, would be visiting Mohegan Sun.

“Meanwhile, I walk in and I’m just blown away by all the memories that come rushing back,” Bird said. “Whether it’s playing games here, we came here a couple times in college — don’t tell anybody.

“This place, it just has so many memories for me and of course the state itself. I always loved coming back here in my WNBA days because I knew the fans at UConn were going to be able to come and watch, you know, a person that they really watched grow up.”

Despite always returning to Connecticut as a visitor, Bird always felt the love and support of the local fans — a bond shared with all young women they watched grow up less than an hour away in Storrs.

“I think a lot of the fans for a long time really viewed us as family members, viewed us as daughters,” Bird said. “So that connection was always there when I came back (to Connecticut) in the WNBA… this state is really where it all got started.”

The five-time Olympic gold medalist will be inducted to the Hall of Fame on Saturday night at the MassMutal Center by the two closest people to her from her time at UConn, Geno Auriemma and Swin Cash. Bird explained why the two fellow Hall of Famers were an easy choice as her inductees.

“(Auriemma) was just somebody that really helped me find myself as a player, find myself as a person,” Bird said. “(He) helped build the foundation of who I became. He’s really difficult to play for, but in all the right ways, because he challenges you. He sees things in you and he helps you find them yourself.

“For Swin (Cash), that’s my college roommate. That’s someone that is more like family than anything else. That’s someone that I have experienced so much with, not just the highs, not just the championships, a lot of lows. Those types of people, the bond you create as you get to have those shared experiences, it’s virtually unbreakable, so it was only right to have both of them up there with me.”