Sue Bird Appears on Panel at Sports Business Innovation Presented by Turner Sports

Justin Lester

Seattle Storm star point guard Sue Bird made an appearance at Sports Business Innovation Presented by Turner Sports at CES in Las Vegas on Thursday, speaking on one of the panels about a variety of topics in the sports industry.

Those participating alongside Bird included NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NCAA President Mark Emmert, former NBA player Grant Hill and current NBA star Draymond Green.

Bird was asked about embracing technology and using sports science to her advantage.

“This all has happened as I entered the later stage in my career,” Bird said. “So at age 32 or 33, I was looking for every advantage I could get. I wasn’t going to be able to rely on quickness – I don’t know if I ever did, but you get my point. Before it was like, ‘If I know every single thing that player wants to do, I can use that as an advantage.’

“I’m 36 now. I’m trying to cross every T and dot every I so that I can play. That’s all I’m thinking about. So if you tell me I need to sleep 12 hours, I’m doing it. If I need to wear a device to figure that out, I’m all about it. And that is something I wish I did when I was 22. I can’t even imagine what my career would have been like.”

This past WNBA season, Bird proved she could still be at her best this late in her career, averaging a league-high 5.8 assists and ranking second in three-point shooting at a career-high 44.4 percent. She also won her fourth Olympic gold medal and helped Seattle end a two-year playoff drought.

You can view a photo gallery of Thursday’s event here.

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