(Reuters) – Four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird said on Thursday that the 2022 season will be her last in professional basketball, after a two decade-long career.
The 12-times Women’s National Basketball Association All-Star was drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm, where she has played the entirety of her career in the top-flight North American league.
“I’ve decided this will be my final year. I have loved every single minute, and still do, so gonna play my last year, just like this little girl played her first,” the 41-year-old point guard wrote in a tweet, accompanied by a photo of herself playing basketball as a child.
A five-times Olympic gold medallist, Bird has enjoyed one of the most decorated careers in the sport and was named USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the year in 2021.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Toby Davis)
