2004 in Review: Sue Bird

Otto Greule Jr./NBAE/Getty BIRD'S STATISTICS 2004 PLAYOFFS 12.9 PPG 8.5 3.1 RPG 3.3 5.4 APG 5.3 1.5 SPG 1.5 0.2 BPG 0.0 33.4 MPG 29.1 .463 FG% .377

Storm Coach Anne Donovan on Sue Bird:

"If you picked one word to describe Sue, it would be 'tough' - as nails. Everyone knows how hard she's played, how competitive she's been, what a great leader she's been and, obviously, what a superstar she is. But when you look back on the season and that broken nose and how tough she was getting through that, it's really incredible."

2004 Season:
One hates to disagree with Coach Donovan, but try this word on for size: "Winner". That's what Bird has done at every level, from high school (Christ the King) to the NCAA (UConn) to the Olympics (USA) to now the WNBA (Storm). All the qualities Donovan mentions make Bird's teams consistently successful, and put her - as much as she might resist - at the forefront of that success.

While Bird entered the WNBA as one of its top players, she continues to develop her game (she's only 24, after all, and didn't even hit that until after the season). This season, the step forward was in terms of efficiency. Bird's field-goal percentage improved from 42.1% to 46.3% and her three-point percentage went from 35.0% to 43.8%. Bird ranked in the WNBA's top ten in all three categories of shooting percentage (she shot 85.9% from the line), a claim only Phoenix's Penny Taylor could share. Her overall shooting percentage, as measured by a true shooting percentage (points divided by shooting possessions, which includes free throws) of 60.4%, ranked second amongst WNBA regulars behind only Taylor.

Bird was also more efficient with the basketball, cutting her turnovers to a career-low 2.56 per game. When combined with her 5.4 assists per game, second in the WNBA, Bird's assist-turnover ratio of 2.11 was fourth in the WNBA.

RELATED ARTICLES

2004 Sue Bird Photo Gallery Healthy Bird Ready to Shine Evolution of the WNBA Point Guard Bird's Olympics Dreams Become Reality Despite Broken Nose, Bird Ready to Go Sue Bird Q&A

After struggling at times early in her career with balancing her ability to score and her ability to get her teammates involved, Bird masterfully juggled the two last season, making her the WNBA's top point guard. That opinion was confirmed by voters when they picked Bird for the All-WNBA First Team for the third consecutive season.

Bird's overall post-season numbers were well below what she did in the regular season, but the way she produced them was heroic. Minutes into Game 2 of the Storm's first-round win over Minnesota, Bird suffered a broken nose. She would miss the rest of the game, but, aside from a couple of minutes during Game 1 of the Storm's Western Conference Finals series against Sacramento when the nose began bleeding, that was the only game time Bird would miss.

The Storm's schedule forced Bird to have surgery to re-set the nose during the off-day between Games 2 and 3 of the series with the Monarchs. Less than 24 hours after the surgery, Bird was back on the KeyArena floor for shootaround. That night, she delivered the best performance of her stellar career, handing out a WNBA Playoffs record 14 assists and scoring 10 points as the Storm advanced to the WNBA Finals with an 82-62 blowout win.

Bird was harassed by the pressure defense of Katie Douglas and Jess Brungo during the Finals and averaged only 10.0 points and 3.7 assists during the series, but her mere presence on the court opened things up for backcourt-mate Betty Lennox to win MVP honors. By maintaining her composure, Bird set an example that her teammates followed in Bringing Home the Storm's first WNBA Championship.
- Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com

2004 Highlights:

Member of gold-medal-winning U.S. Women's Olympic National Team

All-WNBA First Team

Set WNBA Playoff record with 14 assists

Ranked second in WNBA in assists per game (5.4)

One of only two players to rank in WNBA's top ten in all three shooting percentage categories

Started every game for the third consecutive season and has yet to miss a start in her WNBA career

storm.wnba.com Player of the Week:
June 28-July 4
Sep. 1-5

Storm News Archive