Sue Bird Gave Diana Taurasi Honest Advice Amid Retirement Rumors
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will both go down as two of the greatest women's basketball players of all time.
The legends have won 7 WNBA championships and 11 Olympic gold medals with Team USA between them. Throughout their shared greatness in this century, Bird and Taurasi have cultivated a close bond and appear to be among the best of friends.
Bird, who is now 43 years old, retired at the end of the 2022 season. While Taurasi (who is 42 years old) hasn't publicly stated that she will retire after this season — which may come as soon as Wednesday for her Phoenix Mercury team — there's good reason to believe she might be.
The topic of Taurasi's potential retirement was discussed during Wednesday's episode of the "A Touch More" podcast with Bird and soccer legend Megan Rapinoe. And Bird sent a clear message about a crucial decision a player must make when retiring.
"The advice is you have to do what's right for you," Bird said. "That is the only advice that matters. There is no one size fits all with this. It has to feel good for you, period, point blank. Whether you announce at the start of the season, whether you announce halfway through a season, or you just literally walk away. It's got to be, when you go to sleep at night, what feels good for you."
Bird then went on to weigh the difference between someone announcing their impending retirement before the season, during it (as she did in 2022) or just walking off into the sunset once the season ended without informing the public beforehand.
She explained that MLB icon CC Sabathia once told her that announcing one's retirement in advance is good for the fans as well because it allows them to say goodbye and give their flowers (literally and figuratively).
"Oh, I did this for the fans, but at the end, I ultimately won out," Bird concluded about her decision to announce her retirement in advance.
Sue Bird’s advice to Diana Taurasi, or any athlete considering retiring:
— Vanshay Murdock 🎥🎥 (@VanshayM) September 25, 2024
“There is no one size fits all with this. It has to feel good for you… whether you announce at the start of the season, whether you announce halfway through a season, or you just literally walk away..”… pic.twitter.com/51AJIeojvW
It sounds like she'd urge Taurasi to do the same. Yet, if this 2024 season is indeed the end of Taurasi's iconic career, that ship has already sailed.
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.