Geno Auriemma and Sue Bird have won many games together. Bird played for the Huskies from 1998 to 2002 before being picked first overall in the 2002 WNBA draft. During her time in Storrs, she led the team to two national championships.
The relationship between the two extended to international tournaments as the Huskies coach led Team USA to victory in the 2012 Olympics, 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championship.
The 2016 Rio Olympics marked one final time when the two were part of the same team. Ahead of the competition in June 2016, Bird and Auriemma shared playful jabs at each other.
“He likes to talk a lot — don’t pay attention to what he says,” Bird said at a pre-Olympic event in New York City.
Auriemma also spoke at the event and included another main cog in Team USA, Diana Taurasi. The Huskies coach called Bird “passive-aggressive.”
“The common trait that all three of us share is none of us ever thinks we’re wrong — but Sue is the most passive-aggressive,” Auriemma said.
“He’s right — see there, I agreed with you. Which technically makes him wrong,” Bird replied.
Sue Bird Praises Geno Auriemma For Being Her “North Star”
Earlier in June, Sue Bird was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Bird drew curtains on her professional basketball career after the 2022 season. She earned several accolades, including four WNBA titles, 13 All-Star selections, five Olympic gold medals, and four World Championship wins.
This paved her selection among the greats. During her Hall of Fame speech, Bird didn’t forget to mention and credit Geno Auriemma’s immense contribution in shaping her career.
“The UConn coaching staff that’s there now is actually the same one from when I was there back then,” Bird said. “You assisted me in ways that went far beyond X’s and O’s. You developed my character. Coach Auriemma, you taught me that basketball is not a game of how to, it’s a game of when to, and that wisdom became my North Star both on and off court.”
Auriemma was more than happy to learn about Bird’s selection into the Hall of Fame. He said:
“I couldn’t even imagine when you’re a kid, you know, growing up, and you play, and then somebody, after all these years, decides that, you know, you had the kind of career that you’re in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. I can’t imagine what that feels like.”
Bird became the seventh star from UConn’s women’s basketball team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. She joins Maya Moore, Swin Cash, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti and Kara Wolters among the greats.
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