WNBA FINALS: STORM VS. ACES

October 2, 2020

Sue Bird

Seattle Storm

Game 1: Postgame

Seattle Storm 93, Las Vegas Aces 80

Q. What does it say about your team that you were able to set the WNBA Finals assist record tonight?

SUE BIRD: I think Stewie and Jewell were pretty much on fire; what do you think? I think the way that our team plays and the way that our offense is kind of constructed, which actually dates back to even when Jenny Boucek was our coach, it was always about just finding the open player and moving it away where it would create opportunities, and for me as a point guard, I'm just out there trying to find the open player. But like I said, and I've always said this, assist is a two-person thing, and tonight those two played amazing.

Q. You've been in this spot before and you obviously know what it takes to win. What it will take for you guys to win the next game in this series? The second part, I'm sure you heard you were the leading jersey seller this year in the WNBA for the first time in your career. Does that mean anything special to you that obviously there are a lot of fans who are Sue Bird fans?

SUE BIRD: Yeah, so the first question, it's just about watching film. In the moment when you're in the game, it can be hard to truly understand what happened, why it happened, when it happened, so it's always about going and watching film, seeing what we did well, what we did poorly, seeing what they did well, what they did poorly, and just making some adjustments moving forward. So that doesn't change. That's what series are about. They're about adjustments.

As far as the jersey thing goes, yeah, I found out earlier today. It's pretty cool, I'm not going to lie. I think we must have some -- it actually kind of dawned on me, we must have some new WNBA fans because at this point I've been here for so long, if you were a fan of me you probably got that jersey 10, 11, 12 years ago, so maybe it's a sign that there are new people getting interested in the league and they're copping those jerseys, but it's pretty cool.

Q. I'm sure you've seen so much in your career, but had you ever quite seen anything like 37 and 15? And if you could put that in perspective.

SUE BIRD: No, I mean, I was on the floor when Lauren [Jackson] dropped -- it was over 40. It was either 40 or maybe a little bit over 40, I can't quite remember. I was there for that. But in a playoff game? In a Finals game? To have a performance like that is next level.

What I think Stewie always brings to the table is a confidence. There's an air about her. And tonight when she got going, it's -- I don't know, you could just feel it. It was oozing out of her, this next-level confidence, and with every shot that went in, it just kept building. She can always rebound like that. In fact, she just told on herself, so now we know.

Q. When did you know this evening that things were going to be special like this? This is not just an assist record for the Finals, this is the most assists you've ever had in a WNBA game, and for you to do that and for Stewie to go 37 and 15, when was that clear to you?

SUE BIRD: You know, truth is, I didn't really -- yeah, we got a pretty decent lead going into halftime, but we knew they were going to make a run. Of course we would have loved to have won by 20 and have called it a day. But this is the Finals. This is a really good Las Vegas team. We knew they were going to make a run.

So I would say it was at some point in the fourth quarter, Stewie had hit a bunch of shots in a row, and we kind of regained control of the game, pushed it to 10, and there was one three she hit where the ball was about to get reversed, we had a decent amount of time on the shot clock, I was on the way and I actually just made a cut to kind of loosen up the defense for Jewell to come out of the corner, and obviously that's a perfect way for Jewell and Stewie to get into a two-man game, but Stewie just kind of said, "F it" and shot the three, so as I cut through, I didn't realize, and all of a sudden I look up and the ball is going through the net, and in that moment, I was like, ooh, she's having a day. But it wasn't until the fourth quarter where it started to feel like that. Honestly it's the Finals. You never really feel like that until the buzzer goes off, but in that moment you knew she was having a special day.

Q. This is nothing against A'ja, she had a great season, but was Stewie ticked off she didn't get MVP? Does that motivate great players to go at it? I'm not saying she wouldn't have played great anyway, but is that a little extra, I'll show you something?

SUE BIRD: Yeah, I can't speak for Stewie but I would assume so. To your point, it has nothing to do with A'ja; it has nothing to do with her season. She was very deserving of MVP, but I'm sure like Stewie felt she did enough to turn MVP and got edged by A'ja, which happens. We've seen that. I've seen Maya Moore get it over Diana, I've seen Lauren Jackson get it over people. It's a tough league to get MVP in. So I'm sure it does give you a little extra motivation, I would assume.

And Stewie, is that why she played the way she did? I don't know, I think more than anything, she just wants to win a ring.

Q. Did you ever have a moment where you were thinking, I'm back in the Finals again after missing all of last year? Did you kind of appreciate that? You've been in a lot of them, but you had this one-year gap where you didn't play and here you are back again.

SUE BIRD: Yeah, actually I have because going through the season for me personally, I've already talked about this, you know, being in and out of the lineup due to this bone bruise thing, it was really frustrating because in the back of my head, I was like, wow, I really busted my ass just to be back on the floor, and it's been a long time.

I don't know, I think Megan [Rapinoe] actually, when I read her Players Tribune article, it's something crazy, it's like something insane, that my last WNBA game prior to the season was like something wild, like 500 some odd days. So as I was saying, it was a frustrating season, and I had a moment actually before the Playoffs started, and then maybe a little bit once we knew we were in the Finals, it kind of came back where I was like, you worked really hard to get to this point, it's been frustrating but that's behind you, so rather than dwell on it, think about it too much, just know you have an opportunity and to enjoy it.

And again, just to remind myself like all that I have been through with surgeries and rehab and getting back on the court, only to have a pandemic and then you're off the court and then you're back and you're good and there's a bone bruise -- it was a roller coaster at times. But now we're here, I'm off the roller coaster and I'm just trying to make the most of it.

Q. Did you have a feeling coming into the game? What was it like during warmups at the beginning of -- during the day around whether you were going to see a performance like this? Was there something that gave you a sign or you just got on the floor and the game just kind of evolved the way it did?

SUE BIRD: Yeah, I think the game just evolved the way it did. Truth is it was a weird -- for me personally, going into the game, it was a little bit of a unique feeling because I haven't played against Las Vegas. AC [Alysha Clark] actually said this to me the other day, she's like, when is the last time you played against Las Vegas, and I was like, oh, my God, 2018. Obviously I didn't get to play them last year, I didn't get to play these two games this year.

So you can watch film and see how they're going to guard and do different things, but never against me, so I didn't know what they were going to do. So I just kind of went into the game with an open mind, tried to see what was happening. The assist thing wasn't -- not even a thought. I definitely didn't go into the game thinking that.