Sue Bird, still the buzz of the sports world after her Tuesday night Game 5 masked heroics, admitted that she didn’t think she’d be back here, in the WNBA Finals, again.

It has been eight years since the last time that Bird and the Seattle Storm played for a WNBA Championship – one that her, Lauren Jackson and Brian Agler delivered together in 2010.

She chose to stay in Seattle as the franchise reconstructed, wanting to be part of the process that launched the Storm into their next era. She mentored and coached Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd, the Storm’s next generation of stars.

The WNBA’s all-time leader in assists and games played, respected her body – getting herself in the best shape of her life – fed her basketball mind, and hoped that her final years would be a legacy of setting Seattle up for the next great run.

Except that great run happened sooner than she thought.

On Friday night, the Seattle Storm will play for the third WNBA title in franchise history against a Washington Mystics team which has been waiting for this opportunity for 20 years. The Storm will host Games 1 and 2 in KeyArena before heading to the nation’s capital for Games 3 and 4 (if necessary). The series will shift back to Seattle should there be a decisive Game 5.

Bird will be on the floor, in her protective mask, and flanked by a young team hungry for a title.

Stewart had an MVP season, Loyd, in her third season, continues to blossom. Dan Hughes, who has coached more games than anyone in WNBA history, came in to settle a team that fell short of expectations in finishing in eighth place a year ago. And now he will be coaching for the first title of his long career.

Players like Natasha Howard and Sami Whitcomb found their ways to contribute. Rookie Jordin Canada proved to be a burst of energy and quickness combined with the potential to be one of the league’s next great point guards.

And it came together. While the rest of the league went on a roller-coaster ride of parity and intense competition, the Storm stayed steady and posted the best record in the league at 26-8, the only team in the league not to post double-digit losses.

They were consistent, never losing two games in a row. In fact, the Storm didn’t lose back-to-back games until the Semifinals, when they fell twice in Phoenix, the Mercury becoming the first team in league history to go down 0-2 and coming back to force a Game 5.

But Bird made sure it would not be three in a row. Bird made sure the Storm would keep playing. Her 14-point outburst in the final six minutes of Game 5 – coupled with the stellar play of Stewart throughout the game – sealed her spot in the place she didn’t expect to be again.

“The Finals are the Finals,” Bird said.

Who can argue with that?

While Bird’s big Game 5, and her return to the championship is one of the most compelling storylines of this title matchup, there are others.

Mystics patience runs out

Washington, meanwhile, has waited two decades for this opportunity to play for a championship. The Mystics are the only current franchise to have never played for a title, despite having made the playoffs in 10 of their 20 seasons and having reached the semifinals in 2002 and 2017. A franchise that has been home to players like Chamique Holdsclaw and Alana Beard, Nikki McCray and Katie Smith, has finally found the right combination of star power – Elena Delle Donne – and coach, Mike Thibault.

Thibault is the league’s all-time leader in coaching wins, but has never won a WNBA title, having coached in two Finals’ series in 2004 and 2005 in Connecticut.

A matter of experience

Bird and Howard are the only players on the Seattle Storm roster who have won a WNBA Championship. Bird has won two in Seattle and Howard, the WNBA’s Most Improved Player this season, won a ring last season with Minnesota, but will be playing in her fourth straight WNBA Finals Series (Indiana in 2015, Minnesota in 2016 and 2017 and Seattle 2018).

Kristi Toliver is the only player on the Washington roster to have won a title, winning with Los Angeles in 2016, while Delle Donne is making her second trip to the Finals, having played for a championship with the Chicago Sky in 2014.

“Kristi and I have both been in the Finals, we’ve been leaders of this team and have just been trying to make sure everyone is focused, staying light, having a good time and spending time together, not just on the court but off the court,” Delle Donne said.

Fountain of youth

Each of these teams has a rookie that is providing a critical spark.

Washington’s Ariel Atkins looks like the steal of the 2018 Draft after a stellar season for the Mystics. In Game 5 on Tuesday night, Atkins was a star with 20 points and 7 rebounds.

Seattle guard Canada was drafted to be the heir apparent to Bird and her quickness and her ability to both defend and hit big shots has been a big lift. Canada averaged 3.3 assists per game in just 16 minutes on the floor and had a pair of double-digit scoring games in the series against Phoenix.

“I just need to look up to my older players, their pace, their lead and do whatever I need to do for this team to win,” Atkins said.

X-Factors

The two “role” players that have best chance to make a big impact on are Seattle’s Alysha Clark and Washington’s Natasha Cloud.

Clark has been a steady contributor for Seattle for the past three seasons and she was a key to the Game 5 win on Tuesday against Phoenix with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Cloud, meanwhile, had a breakout season for Washington. She has been a strong ball distributor in the postseason as well as an effective perimeter threat – 10-of-20 from beyond the arc.

Marquee matchup

Stewart vs. Delle Donne. These two MVPs want to add a title to their resume. They have versatility and length. They are players who can light up the scoreboard. But will Delle Donne’s knee injury leave her at a disadvantage here against Stewie? That is perhaps the biggest question mark of this series.

Longtime WNBA reporter Michelle Smith writes a weekly column on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

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