Watch and read Sue Bird’s full speech from statue ceremony

Note: This has been edited for clarity and length.

This is incredible. Yeah, I feel really lucky that I’ve been able to stand in front of you and share my memories and with the jersey retirement and big games and Finals games. This does feel different. This does feel different.

So, I’ll start by saying that, and I do want to say also that none of this gets done without so much help, so much vision. So thank you to Tod Leiweke, Sam Holloway … Morgan Littlefield to Eric Pettigrew … Mayor Harrell, former Governor Inslee, current Governor Ferguson, city council. Love you guys for this. And of course, my Storm family, everyone in the front office, everyone who works for the Storm, past, present, current. But of course, the ownership group, Lisa Brummel, Ginny Gilder, Dawn Trudeau, Alisha Valavanis, president. Special shout out to you, Dawn, you’re with me, step by step. Here you are. …

To Nike, who literally never misses when it comes to making an important day even more special … the whole presentation and really all the support they’ve given me my whole career. A very, very special thank you to the Rotblatt Amrany Studio for bringing this all to life. Julie … and the entire team.

This process was interesting and really fun, and it was so incredible every time I went to the studio to walk in and, I mean, it was weird to see yourself in clay form, but it was like, with every little tweak, it just became more and more me, until finally I was underneath it, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my nose.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s definitely my hair.’

So I did want to start by just telling you guys why I chose this post, because you do get to choose. I was thinking pullup jump shot, you know, passing. What do I want? But some fun little fact about my career that maybe some of you know, maybe not, my very first points in the WNBA at KeyArena as a rookie, were on a layup. My very final points in the WNBA were at Climate Pledge on a layup [applause].

But it’s actually something that means a lot to me. So this feels very full circle, plus I knew Lenny (Wilkens, who also received a statue at Climate Pledge Arena) was going to be playmaking off the dribble, we needed someone to, you know, give that assist. Someone had to finish it off. Congratulations to Lenny … as well [applause].

Twenty-three years ago, I stepped off a plane in Seattle as a 21-year-old kid from New York, fresh out of college, wondering what my life was going to be like. The WNBA had just finished its fifth season, the Storm just its second, and the Pacific Northwest couldn’t have been further from all that I knew. Today, I’m standing here looking at a statue of myself, and honestly that 21-year-old would never believe this moment was possible, or that Seattle would become everything she didn’t know she needed.

This statue, it’s not just an honor, it’s history. Honestly … I couldn’t have said it better. First of all, it’s so amazing to see all my former teammates, friends, former coaches, to have you guys travel out here. It is true, I don’t tell anybody anything ever, not even my mom. I like win stuff, and they get so mad at me, like they read in the newspaper. But to have you guys here, I hope you know how much it means to me.

But the statue goes well beyond just myself. Like I said, it’s not just an honor, it’s history. I’m the first (WNBA) player to ever have a statue built, and that fact both humbles me and fills me with pride, not just for me, but for what this represents for women’s basketball, for every young girl who will walk past this statue [applause] … and every young boy is going to do the same thing.

People keep asking me what it feels like to be the first, and the truth is, I never set out to be the first at anything. But if being the first means that I won’t be the last, if this statue means that 20 years from now, there’ll be statues of other WNBA greats — some are in this audience — and players whose names we don’t even know yet, then I’m proud to be the first [applause].

This statue doesn’t just belong to me. It belongs to Seattle. It belongs to every fan who believed in women’s basketball when the rest of the world wasn’t paying attention. It belongs to every teammate who trusted my passes, every coach who had the belief to put the ball in my hands at the end of games, and every person who made Climate Pledge Arena, and KeyArena before it, feel like home for over two decades [applause]. … You’re the most loyal fan base in sports. You showed up again when women’s basketball needed champions. You filled arenas. You wore our jerseys with pride, and you made Seattle the gold standard for supporting women’s sports. …

It’s like you chant ‘one more year,’ I come back and demand a statue. I get one. [applause] This literally exists because you believed it should. So the Storm organization again, the ownership group that I’m now honored to be a part of, you didn’t just draft a player in 2002, you’ve invested in a dream, and you never stopped believing in what we could build together. You gave me more than a job, you gave me an identity, purpose and a platform to be exactly who I was meant to be [applause].

And to this incredible, incredible city that embraced me from day one — a point guard from Long Island — made her feel like she’d been here her whole life, thank you for 21 of the most incredible years. Seattle, you taught me that home isn’t just where you’re from, it’s where you choose to build something meaningful, and you build something so special here [applause]. …

This is what this means to me. It means no one can rewrite the story or diminish what women’s basketball means to this city. This statue will stand here long after we’re gone, and I hope it tells a simple story that greatness isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being persistent, that you can be true to yourself and still achieve extraordinary things, and that when a city believes in you, anything is possible. And to every young player again who will walk past this statue, your dreams are valid, even when other people don’t understand them. And remember, the best careers are measured just by what you achieve, but by who you become along the way.

I came to Seattle as Sue Bird the basketball player. I’m leaving as Sue Bird the Seattleite [applause]. A piece of me stays in the city forever, just like the city will always be a part of me. And when you inevitably see a little bird poop on my shoulder, don’t worry about it. Just consider it family checking in and reminding me where home is. Thank you, Seattle [applause]