Seattle Storm legend Sue Bird announced today she will retire at the end of the season.
The 41-year-old spent much of her career playing alongside Australia’s greatest ever basketballer Lauren Jackson and will play her final games alongside current Australian stars Steph Talbot and Ezi Magbegor.
Talbot says it’s been a career highlight playing alongside one of the greatest to ever play the game.
“Obviously on the court, it’s great to play with a point guard of the calibre of Sue Bird, the way she sets her team up, her IQ and her skill level is insane but for me, it’s her leadership.
“The way she talks to her teammates on and off the court, the way she leads, I feel like I’ve learned a lot from her in that aspect.
“For me, leadership is something I’ve improved a lot over the last couple of years but I’ve got so far to go if I want to build my leadership skills and be a good leader. To be able to learn from who I think is one of the best leaders in the world, in any sport, is really cool.”
Bird, Talbot and Magbegor will hit the court for the Storm when they host Connecticut Sun live, free and in HD on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand from 9am on Saturday.
Talbot began the season in Seattle’s starting five and is now working her way back after returning from Covid two weeks ago against Dallas.
“I came back after 10 days off, I didn’t have any training sessions before my first game then we only had a day in between and we had another game,” she explains.
“So, there’s not time to get your rhythm back, your lungs back and slotting back into the team I found a little bit difficult.”
Fresh off a WNBL championship in April, Magbegor is shining in her third WNBA campaign and leading the league in blocks with 3 per game.
“Ezi’s really blossoming,” Talbot said.
“It’s super cool to watch how she’s playing, how she’s taking her game to the next level, I think she’s really smart for a 22-year-old, basketball-wise, obviously we all know she’s got the athleticism and the skills and she’s figuring how to use that and her length.
“I’m just enjoying watching her develop.”
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From the yellow and green of Seattle to the Opals national uniform, Talbot and Magbegor will be on court together again come September when Australia host’s the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
“It’s super exciting. Obviously right now our focus is on Seattle but for me, in the back of my head I know we have three months until World Cup on home soil after what wasn’t the greatest tournament in Tokyo (Olympics),” Talbot says.
“It’s a big deal but we’re also trying to focus on what’s in front of us at the moment.”
