NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2017 – Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird has been named the recipient of the 2017 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, the WNBA announced today.  This marks the second such honor for Bird, who shared the award with Ruth Riley in 2011.

The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is presented each season to a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, including ethical behavior, fair play and integrity.  The award is named for the late Kim Perrot, who helped guide the Houston Comets to their first two WNBA championships before passing away in August 1999 after a seven-month battle with cancer.

Bird received 20 votes from a national panel of 40 sportswriters and broadcasters.  Atlanta Dream center/forward Elizabeth Williams finished second with five votes, while Los Angeles Sparks guard/forward Alana Beard was third with four votes.  Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore and Washington Mystics center Krystal Thomas received three votes each.

The 5-9 Bird recently played her 15^th WNBA season, all spent with the Storm, which selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft.  During the 2017 season, Bird broke the WNBA record for career assists (2,610), surpassing Ticha Penicheiro (2,599).  Bird was named an All-Star for the 10^th time, matching Tamika Catchings for the most selections in league history.  She averaged a career-high 6.6 assists to go with 10.6 points, helping Seattle advance to the WNBA Playoffs presented by Verizon for the second year in a row.

Last year, Bird was named one of the 20 greatest and most influential players in WNBA history as part of the WNBA Top20@20 presented by Verizon.  The former University of Connecticut standout won WNBA championships with Seattle in 2004 and 2010.  She is also a four-time Olympic gold medalist with USA Basketball (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016).

Bird has led the WNBA in assist average three times (2005, 2009 and 2016).  She finished the 2017 season ranked ninth in WNBA history in scoring (5,840 points) and eighth in steals (617).

Below are the voting results for the 2017 WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award and a list of all-time winners.

2017 KIM PERROT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD RESULTS

Player                                           Team                                                            Votes

Sue Bird                                       Seattle Storm                                                20

Elizabeth Williams                        Atlanta Dream                                                       5

Alana Beard                                    Los Angeles Sparks                                               4

Maya Moore                                   Minnesota Lynx                                                      3

Krystal Thomas                             Washington Mystics                                              3

Cappie Pondexter                         Chicago Sky                                                              2

Kayla McBride                               San Antonio Stars                                                   1

Jeanette Pohlen-Mavunga          Indiana Fever                                                            1

Jasmine Thomas                           Connecticut Sun                                                      1

ALL-TIME KIM PERROT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS

2017                   Sue Bird                                Seattle Storm

2016                   Tamika Catchings                     Indiana Fever

2015                   DeLisha Milton-Jones              Atlanta Dream

2014                   Becky Hammon                        San Antonio Stars

2013                   Swin Cash                                   Chicago Sky

2013                   Tamika Catchings                     Indiana Fever

2012                   Kara Lawson                               Connecticut Sun

2011                   Sue Bird                                        Seattle Storm

2011                    Ruth Riley                                    San Antonio Stars

2010                   Tamika Catchings                     Indiana Fever

2009                   Kara Lawson                               Sacramento Monarchs

2008                   Vickie Johnson                          San Antonio Stars

2007                   Tully Bevilaqua                          Indiana Fever

2006                   Dawn Staley                               Houston Comets

2005                   Taj McWilliams-Franklin        Connecticut Sun

2004                   Teresa Edwards                        Minnesota Lynx

2003                   Edna Campbell                          Sacramento Monarchs

2002                   Jennifer Gillom                          Phoenix Mercury

2001                   Sue Wicks                                    New York Liberty

2000                   Suzie McConnell Serio            Cleveland Rockers

1999                   Dawn Staley                               Charlotte Sting

1998                   Suzie McConnell Serio            Cleveland Rockers

1997                   Haixia Zheng                              Los Angeles Sparks