SUE BIRD

Sue Bird is going back to international basketball.

When Kevin Durant was asked about the notion of him and some other Olympic gold medalists potentially getting seats on USA Basketball’s Board of Directors, he liked the idea.

Diana Taurasi hopes to be healthy and potentially play for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics next year.

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart are keenly aware of the legacy of success they are part of with the U.S. women’s basketball team.

A’ja Wilson scored 19 points, Kelsey Plum added 17 and the United States beat China 83-61 to win its fourth consecutive gold medal at the women’s World Cup.

Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and Alyssa Thomas had 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in her debut for the United States, which beat Belgium 87-72 in its World Cup opener.

Sue Bird just knows how to win.

Sue Bird’s career came to an end as Chelsea Gray scored 15 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Las Vegas Aces advanced to the WNBA Finals with a 97-92 win over the Seattle Storm in Game 4 of their semifinal series.

Jackie Young sent the game in overtime with a buzzer-beating basket and then Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum hit big shots in the extra session to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Seattle Storm 110-98 to move within a victory of advancing to the WNBA Finals.

Sue Bird's eye for the court and knowledge of the game separates her among WNBA point guards.

Breanna Stewart had 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Sue Bird added season highs of 18 points and 10 assists, and the Seattle Storm beat the Washington Mystics 97-84 to sweep their opening-round series.

The U.S. women’s basketball team will have a lot of new faces when the Americans play in the FIBA World Cup next month in Australia.

Sue Bird knows she made the right decision announcing publicly what she knew inside — that this would be her last WNBA season.

The Las Vegas Aces have come out of the All-Star break on a roll, winning three road games and scoring more than 100 points in two of victories.

A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and the rest of the WNBA All-Stars lined up along the sideline after halftime, the No. 42 and the name Griner on the back of all of their jerseys.

Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles are playing in the WNBA All-Star Game for the last time.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have been linked for two decades.

Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman will get a chance to play before their home fans as the trio was selected as reserves for the WNBA All-Star Game on July 10 in Chicago.

Gabby Williams scored a season-high 23 points in Seattle’s 81-72 win over the New York Liberty in what was Storm guard Sue Bird’s final regular-season game in her hometown.

Seattle Storm star and five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird says the 2022 season will be her last playing in the WNBA.

For WNBA players, spending the offseason by competing in Russia can be lucrative, with some earning more money than they make back home.

Russia has been a popular destination for WNBA players like Brittney Griner over the past two decades because of the money they can make playing there in the winter.

Sue Bird officially re-signed with the Seattle Storm, her only WNBA team, in what is expected to be her final season.

Paige Bueckers scored 22 points but went down with an injury at the end of No. 2 UConn’s 73-54 win over No. 24 Notre Dame.

The WNBA playoff chase may come down to the final day of the regular season on Sept. 19.

President Joe Biden has honored the 2020 WNBA champions Seattle Storm at the White House.

Breanna Stewart scored 15 of her 17 points in the first quarter and the Seattle Storm routed the Connecticut Sun 79-57 to win the inaugural WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Sue Bird capped off her unblemished 17-year Olympics run with a record fifth gold medal.

Sue Bird’s impressive 17-year Olympic journey will come to an end this weekend.

Day 15 of the Tokyo Games will feature the American women going for gold in basketball, volleyball and water polo.

The new medal standard in Olympic women’s track has been set.

Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the U.S. beat Serbia 79-59 to advance to the gold medal game of the Olympics.

Breanna Stewart scored 20 of her 23 points in the first half to help the U.S. beat Australia 79-55 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

There is definitely a UConn flavor to the women's basketball being played in the Tokyo Games.

The next challenge for the U.S. is rival Australia in the quarterfinals of the women's basketball tournament.

A’ja Wilson scored 22 points and Breanna Stewart added 17 to help the U.S. beat France 93-82.

Usain Bolt has retired so there will be a new fastest man at the Olympics for the first time since 2008 when the men’s 100-meter dash is held on Day 9 of the Tokyo Games.

The U.S. women’s basketball team isn’t clicking at the Tokyo Games the way the Americans would like.

A’ja Wilson scored 20 points and Breanna Stewart added 15 to help the U.S. beat Japan 86-69 in the women's basketball tournament.

Nigeria assistant coach Ruthie Bolton could only watch and yell at the television in a Japanese hotel room as the Nigerians battled the U.S. women's basketball team.

A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 13 rebounds in her Olympic debut to help the U.S. beat Nigeria 81-72 in the opener for both teams.

Dawn Staley says she doesn’t feel any added pressure being the first Black head coach of the U.S. women’s basketball Olympic team.

U.S. assistant Dan Hughes is not the face of the Olympic women's basketball team and he couldn't be happier in his role.

Miami Marlins infielder Eddy Alvarez and four-time Olympic women’s basketball gold medalist Sue Bird will be the U.S. flag bearers for the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Games.

Four-time Olympic women’s basketball gold medalist Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez have been chosen as USA flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Both the U.S. Olympic team and the WNBA All-Stars expect a competitive game in the league’s showcase.

The Chicago Sky are at full strength and moving up the WNBA standings after a slow start due to injuries.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will try and become the first five-time Olympic gold medalists in women’s basketball as they lead the U.S. team during the Tokyo Games.

The U.S. women’s basketball team has a few questions surrounding its roster as the Americans to make a run at a seventh consecutive gold medal in the Olympics.

The WNBA will tip off its 25th season on Friday after an offseason that was full of player movement, including Candace Parker returning home to Chicago.

The Tokyo Games begin July 23, one day after the NBA says is the last possible date for this season’s NBA Finals. Serbia will play host to the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Italy and Senegal. Croatia will play host to Germany, Russia, Mexico, Tunisia and Brazil. And Canada will play host to Greece, China, Uruguay, Turkey and the Czech Republic. AdAll four of those qualifiers will be winner-take-all, one nation from each of those events advancing to the Tokyo Games.

That's changing now that Rapinoe has returned to the U.S. national team for its January training camp in Florida after sitting out most of last year. The last time Rapinoe played for the national team was on March 11, when she scored in a 3-1 SheBelieves Cup victory over Japan. The national team settled its dispute with the federation over unequal working conditions in December, leaving the pay dispute still unresolved. Rapinoe, 35, has scored 52 goals with 68 assists in 168 appearances with the national team since her first call-up in 2006. She scored on a penalty kick in the United States' victory over the Netherlands in the 2019 World Cup final.

Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm never really got a chance to defend their 2018 championship because of key injuries. “I don’t know if any of us are thinking that way,” Stewart said after the Storm completed a three-game sweep of the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night by setting a WNBA Finals record with a 33-point win. The 26-year-old won a second WNBA Finals MVP as a unanimous choice and was nearly unstoppable in the championship round. Bird, who turns 40 next week, has been a part of all four of the Storm championships during three decades. I just kind of start working out and see how I feel,” said Bird, who averaged 11 assists in the WNBA Finals.

Stewart scored 26 points and Seattle completed a sweep of the Las Vegas Aces with a 92-59 rout Tuesday night. It was the biggest margin of victory in WNBA Finals history. Seattle had pretty much the same core group that won the 2018 championship back for this year, led by Stewart, Bird and Jewell Loyd. Seattle has now won a record 11 games in a row in the WNBA Finals, dating to the team's first championship in 2004. She led the Dream to three WNBA Finals appearances but the team was swept in each one.

Las Vegas couldn't respond. A'ja Wilson had 20 points to lead Las Vegas while Angel McCoughtry and Emma Cannon added 17 each. The Aces led 65-64 with 3:22 left in the period before the Storm closed with a 11-3 burst. The Storm, who had 17 assists on their 18 baskets, built the lead to 13 before Las Vegas rallied to the six-point halftime deficit. ... Stewart had her fifth consecutive 20-point game in the WNBA Finals spanning back to the 2018 season.

Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (30) celebrates after the team defated the Las Vegas Aces during Game 1 of basketball's WNBA Finals Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)BRADENTON, Fla. – The Seattle Storm's lead down to two with a quarter left, Breanna Stewart took over. The big-game player scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter and finished with 37 to help the Storm beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-80 on Friday night in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. She was a point short of the WNBA Finals record set by Angel McCoughtry. McCoughtry scored 20 points to lead Las Vegas, which was playing in the WNBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to the Nevada city three years ago. Eight players had reached 11 assists in a finals game before Bird's record performance.

NEW YORK The Seattle Storm are healthy to begin the season with Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird back in the lineup and sit atop the preseason Associated Press WNBA poll. 1 in the preseason since the AP has been doing the poll. You have to go out there and play the games, said Bird, who missed last season while recovering from knee surgery. Connecticut and Washington, who met for the WNBA title last year, were sixth and seventh in the poll. The first regular season power poll will be released on Tuesday, July 28___Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg

Sue Bird has seen a lot in her storied playing career in the WNBA, overseas and the Olympics. While nothing the 39-year-old Seattle Storm guard experienced has prepared her for life in the WNBA bubble, she is making the best of the situation. The bubble is part summer camp, mixed in with the Olympic village, playing overseas and an AAU tournament with a little bit of college life thrown in, Bird said in a phone interview. Two weeks into the experiment, players and coaches have been adjusting to their temporary homes. The WNBA has gone far and beyond what I thought would happen.Even with the WNBA in the bubble, the virus is still on everyones mind.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)BOISE, Idaho Groups that advocate for civil rights and womens rights have joined notable athletes in asking the NCAA to move 2021 mens basketball tournament games out of Idaho after the state passed a law banning transgender women from competing in womens sports. The first and second rounds of the men's tournament are scheduled for next March at Boise State University. Transgender athletes deserve the same dignity and respect entitled to all NCAA athletes. A girls or womens team will not be open to transgender students who identify as female. Backers said the law, called the Fairness in Womens Sports Act, is needed because transgender female athletes have physical advantages.

USA players celebrate following their sides victory in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Semi Final match between England and USA. The USWNT's victory is the biggest win in the history of the Women's World Cup, surpassing Germany 's 11-0 result against Argentina in 2007. It's also the largest margin of victory in the history of the FIFA World Cup (men's and women's). On top of that, the USA are unbeaten in their last 16 Women's World Cup matches -- 13 wins and three draws -- and have never lost a World Cup game they have scored first in, winning 36 and drawing four. She's now scored five times at this World Cup, becoming the first player to score two goals in successive games in the World Cup since Brazilia Marta in 2007, after the American's braces against Spain and France.