Olympics Legend Sue Bird Reveals 'Uncomfortable' Experience of Playing on Team USA
Sue Bird knows what playing Team USA Olympics Basketball is like better than just about anybody.
Bird is currently tied with fellow legend Diana Taurasi for the most Olympic gold medals (5) of all time. Both women secured gold medals at the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic games. Although Taurasi (who, unlike Bird, is still an active player) is well on her way to securing a record sixth gold medal in Paris.
Therefore, it's safe to say that Bird knows Team USA.
And during an episode of the '7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & The Kid Mero' podcast that was released on Tuesday, Bird spoke out about the selflessness that playing on Team USA demands.
"This is my blanket statement for USA basketball: It is the most uncomfortable basketball I've ever played," Bird said in the podcast.
"You're never comfortable... I would argue that there's maybe a player or two max on a team that gets to do exactly what they normally do," Bird continued. "It's usually like your best scorer or your best player. They get to be who they are no matter what. Everybody else? Uncomfortable the whole time."
Bird averaged 11.7 points per game across her historic 19-season WNBA career. Yet, she averaged 4.2 points per game as an Olympian, and never averaged more than 6.1 points per game at any single Olympics.
"You're trying to be this, you're trying to do that, you're trying to get yourself going," Bird continued while speaking to Anthony (who has three Olympics gold medals of his own) and The Kid Mero.
"But this is your role. And it's just like this f****** dance... and I tell people who join the team... I'm like, 'Listen: If you're uncomfortable, you're doing it right.'"
"This is my blanket statement for USA basketball. It is the most uncomfortable basketball I've ever played."
— Lyndsey D'Arcangelo 🏀 (@darcangel21) August 6, 2024
Sue Bird gets candid on playing for Team USA with Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero on this week's episode of 7PM in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/fnM4To4CWX
While Bird doesn't make playing for Team USA sound like the easiest experience, one would imagine that her five gold medals made the uncomfortableness she endured well worth it.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.