Sue Bird’s 20-year WNBA career ended Tuesday night with tears, chants and a message for her successor at point guard for the Seattle Storm.
After Chelsea Gray and A’ja Wilson led the Las Vegas Aces to a Game 4 victory over the Storm, clinching a spot in the WNBA Finals, Bird was left thanking fans for 20 years of support.
Aces coach Becky Hammon likened her team’s win to Ajla Tomljanovic’s third-round defeat of Serena Williams — bittersweet.
But before Bird could walk off, she was stopped by ESPN for one last on-court postgame interview.
“I hope the next person that comes in and plays point guard here can keep the tradition going, keep the winning going, keep that championship level going,” Bird said.
Bird wasn’t speaking about anyone in particular, but Twitter reacted as if she were addressing one point guard directly — Courtney Vandersloot.
Game 5 of the semifinal series between the Sky and Connecticut Sun on Thursday has the potential to be the last for a few players. While the league said goodbye to Bird and Sylvia Fowles with grand farewell tours, Allie Quigley and Candace Parker have quietly contemplated the end.
Parker told Kristen Ledlow on ‘‘WNBA Weekly’’ ahead of the 2022 season that she was operating with the mindset that this would be her last. She signed a two-year deal with the Sky in 2020 that expires at the end of the season. Since then, she has reiterated that her retirement decision will come down to how she feels in the offseason.
Quigley, similarly, hasn’t definitively answered questions about her future in the WNBA. One indication that this could be her last season was her decision not to sign with an overseas team for the first time in her 15-year career. Quigley’s one-year contract expires at the end of the season, along with Vandersloot’s.
The Sky played a decisive Game 3 against the New York Liberty in the first round of the playoffs in Brooklyn. The significant difference between that elimination game and this one was the expectation that the Sky would advance past the No. 7 Liberty.
But Connecticut is a much better team than the Liberty and has momentum on its side. The Sun beat the Sky handily in Game 4 and are aiming for their first WNBA title with a roster that will face its own disruption at the end of the season.
Coach Curt Miller has said more than once that his team’s championship window is closing — fast.
Playing at Wintrust Arena is an advantage, but the Sky haven’t dominated on their home court in the playoffs. They went 14-4 at home in the regular season but lost both series openers in the playoffs.
The biggest key to advancing to the Finals for a second consecutive year is staying together, Quigley said.
In Game 4, the Sky looked disjointed and a step behind the Sun. The Sky’s defense in the postseason has reached a new level, but it fell flat Tuesday.
The Sky lagged in rotations, giving up easy backdoor layups and 66 points in the paint, 26 more than the Sun averaged in the regular season.
The Sky’s response after losses has been one of the most popular talking points in the postseason.
Parker adamantly said after Game 2 that she’s not worried about her team’s response after losses; she wanted to see more urgency after wins.
The Sky’s failure to heed that call has them on the brink of elimination with an uncertain future awaiting in the offseason.
Neither Parker nor Quigley has exuded any type of retirement-dance energy this season. Farewell tours aren’t for everyone. Vandersloot has not indicated whom she’ll be signing with in February.
Whether they acknowledge it or not, Game 5 could be their last for the Sky. That’s all the incentive they should need to lock up a return to the WNBA Finals.
