Swimsuit

12 Powerful Photos of WNBA Championship Athlete Sue Bird in St. Thomas

The retired Seattle Storm player was featured in last year’s SI Swimsuit Issue.

Ananya Panchal

Sue Bird was photographed by Laretta Houston in St. Thomas. 

WNBA star Sue Bird made her SI Swimsuit debut last year in St. Thomas alongside fellow basketball players Breanna Stewart, DiDi Richards, Nneka Ogwumike and Te’a Cooper. The former Seattle Storm point guard, who retired last September, was the team’s No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and spent her entire career with the Storm, leading the team to four WNBA championships.

Since retiring, the 13-time WNBA All-Star and five-time Olympic gold medalist co-founded the production company, A Touch More. She’s also a co-founder of the media and commerce brand TOGETHXR.

The 42-year-old is aware of the major success she has achieved over the years, as well as her GOAT status. She noted, however, that it’s not about the accomplishments as much as it is about the people you get to share them with.

“I definitely have moments where I can look back and be proud of certain moments or proud of certain achievements, but also it’s about who you do it with and the journey of that,” she explained. “I’ve been really fortunate to play with the players I’ve played with, some of the all-time greats. It’s hard to pick what I’m most proud of, sometimes I think it’s some of the things I’ve done toward the end of my career because I didn’t expect to still be playing. Maybe what I’m most proud of is I’ve done it in different decades—not many people can say they stayed on the top of their game for this long. That might be what I’m most proud of, that’s so cool.”

Below are 12 of our favorite photos from Bird’s photo shoot with photographer Laretta Houston in St. Thomas.

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit. Before joining SI Swimsuit in 2022, she worked at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When she is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, Panchal can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. Panchal has a bachelor’s in communications and journalism from Boston University.

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