SUE BIRD

Born October 16, 1980 in New York

5-time Olympic gold medalist in basketball who retired from the WNBA in 2022, finishing with 336 wins, the most by any player in WNBA history!

At a young age, she wanted to be a pro soccer player, until discovering her love for hoops.

Her grandparents changed their name from Boorda at Ellis Island and in 2006 she became an Israeli citizen (so she could play more basketball in Europe!)

Doesn’t consider herself Jewish or Christian, but rather both, and celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah every year (“the best of both worlds,” she says).

“To be successful, you have to expose yourself to different situations-different styles of play, different teammates, different coaching.”