Sue Bird hopes to continue legacy as 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup ambassador

Sue Bird is an icon in the women's basketball scene, steering the Seattle Storm to four WNBA championships to become the first player in league's history to win titles across three decades.

Drafted top overall in 2002, the 42-year-old Bird also played a huge role for USA national team as she helped the squad copped its ninth Olympic gold medal in 2021 in Tokyo and her fifth overall.

Bird, however, called it a career during the previous WNBA season, putting an end to an illustrious career that saw her emerge as one of the best women's cagers in the world.

And she hopes to continue writing her legacy while also helping women's basketball grow further as she was named as the ambassador for the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in 2026 in Germany.

"Just a lot of excitement but on top of that, I feel honored to be sitting here. Women's basketball is a really exciting moment," Bird said during a press conference on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

"It's pivotal and no better way to continue, not as a player anymore, but as a former player, to help grow that game and really ride that wave that is women's basketball."

Bird knows there's existing challenges for women's basketball across the globe, one of which is viewership and fanbase for the sport. But the 13-time WNBA All-Star said closing the gap isn't a difficult one, stressing the fact that fans are already existing.

"I don't think it's difficult. Women's basketball fans are there. They're out there and they just haven't been able to get access," Bird added.

"It's just a matter of access. The fans already exist, you don't have to convince them."

Bird also hopes that with the new edition of the World Cup coming up, more stories of players, coaches, and teams will be told to the world.

"I think the way I view it is it's not WNBA and then FIBA and Europe, it's not. It's one. It's a global game. I think when one grows, it's only gonna help the other and vice versa," she said.

"There are so many incredible stories and a lot of times, those just haven't had the chance to be told. I think that's how you build a fanbase, that's how you build viewership."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News