SuperPawgHunter
Banned
Kyrie Irving remembers the first time he met Seattle Storm basketball legend Sue Bird in person. The point guards were sent to autograph basketballs in Brazil during the 2016 Rio Olympics, where both would win respective golds for the American men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Irving said he was star-struck seeing the two-time WNBA champion and four-time Olympic medalist in person. But Bird thought he played it off cool.
“He was so friendly and like ‘Yo, Sue I’m a big fan. I love your game,’” Bird told SB Nation. “You could tell he was excited, which was cool for me. Obviously I’ve seen him play and I’m a huge fan of his game.”
A relationship that now features occasional texts and FaceTime video calls was forged not by autograph signings but a shared love for sneakers. Specifically, the green and gold colorways of Irving’s signature brand that Bird had custom made to wear on the court, a unique pair that the Celtics superstar didn’t even own.
“‘You’ve seen the shoes that I wear,” Bird recalled saying to Irving. “‘You watch us? Oh we’re gonna be cool.’”
It’s unsurprising for basketball players to be sneakerheads, but these two are on another level.
“I went to Nike and I was like ‘Are you seeing the greatest point guard to ever play the game wear my shoes?’ Irving told SB Nation. “‘Okay yeah, give her whatever she wants.’
And they did.
Irving’s appreciation for Bird goes back much further than their Olympics meetup. Growing up in New Jersey, not far from where Bird was raised in New York and played college ball with the Connecticut Huskies, she was a household name to Irving, who’s 11 years younger than the Storm great.
“As time went on, you always heard about Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles and Sylvia Fowles. Even the girls before them like Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie,” Irving said. “Sue is right along that lineage.”
Flash-forward to Irving finding his own success in the NBA, when he knew he had to see Bird play in person. He flew out to Seattle five years ago to see Bird in action and was awestruck to see one of his idols live.
“She’s such an amazing quarterback,” Irving told SB Nation.
Bird’s greatest hits mostly feature her threading the needle to find a cutting teammate, or driving the lane and dishing where nobody is looking. But her talents stretch far beyond that. When she must, she can take over as the team’s go-to scorer.
Phoenix Mercury for a trip to the Finals, she went off in the final quarter with 14 points on four 3-point makes.
Sporting a face mask to protect the her nose — which was broken 48 hours earlier for the fifth time in her life — Bird washed away her best friend and most evenly-matched rival Diana Taurasi’s season in the latest signature moment of her career.
It was a death by three — really, really deep threes that Bird’s emphasized as she’s aged and lost some explosiveness.
“Big-time players are going to play in big-time moments,” Irving told SB Nation. “I feel like Sue has been preparing all season for that, managing the team well. I think that she has the will of a champion. A broken nose isn’t gonna stop you.”
To read the rest of this boring ass story: How Sue Bird and Kyrie Irving became basketball’s best point guard friendship
Irving said he was star-struck seeing the two-time WNBA champion and four-time Olympic medalist in person. But Bird thought he played it off cool.
“He was so friendly and like ‘Yo, Sue I’m a big fan. I love your game,’” Bird told SB Nation. “You could tell he was excited, which was cool for me. Obviously I’ve seen him play and I’m a huge fan of his game.”
A relationship that now features occasional texts and FaceTime video calls was forged not by autograph signings but a shared love for sneakers. Specifically, the green and gold colorways of Irving’s signature brand that Bird had custom made to wear on the court, a unique pair that the Celtics superstar didn’t even own.
“‘You’ve seen the shoes that I wear,” Bird recalled saying to Irving. “‘You watch us? Oh we’re gonna be cool.’”
It’s unsurprising for basketball players to be sneakerheads, but these two are on another level.
“I went to Nike and I was like ‘Are you seeing the greatest point guard to ever play the game wear my shoes?’ Irving told SB Nation. “‘Okay yeah, give her whatever she wants.’
And they did.
Irving’s appreciation for Bird goes back much further than their Olympics meetup. Growing up in New Jersey, not far from where Bird was raised in New York and played college ball with the Connecticut Huskies, she was a household name to Irving, who’s 11 years younger than the Storm great.
“As time went on, you always heard about Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles and Sylvia Fowles. Even the girls before them like Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie,” Irving said. “Sue is right along that lineage.”
Flash-forward to Irving finding his own success in the NBA, when he knew he had to see Bird play in person. He flew out to Seattle five years ago to see Bird in action and was awestruck to see one of his idols live.
“She’s such an amazing quarterback,” Irving told SB Nation.
Bird’s greatest hits mostly feature her threading the needle to find a cutting teammate, or driving the lane and dishing where nobody is looking. But her talents stretch far beyond that. When she must, she can take over as the team’s go-to scorer.
Phoenix Mercury for a trip to the Finals, she went off in the final quarter with 14 points on four 3-point makes.
Sporting a face mask to protect the her nose — which was broken 48 hours earlier for the fifth time in her life — Bird washed away her best friend and most evenly-matched rival Diana Taurasi’s season in the latest signature moment of her career.
It was a death by three — really, really deep threes that Bird’s emphasized as she’s aged and lost some explosiveness.
“Big-time players are going to play in big-time moments,” Irving told SB Nation. “I feel like Sue has been preparing all season for that, managing the team well. I think that she has the will of a champion. A broken nose isn’t gonna stop you.”
To read the rest of this boring ass story: How Sue Bird and Kyrie Irving became basketball’s best point guard friendship
