Sue Bird reflects on Geno Auriemma, WNBA in 2026, Phoenix Suns

Sue Bird retired from the Seattle Storm in 2022, but still works tirelessly on and off the court.

The Hall of Famer and four-time WNBA champion was in Phoenix from April 3-5 for the Women’s Final Four supporting her college team, UConn, which lost to South Carolina in the semifinals.

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Bird, the Team USA women’s basketball director since 2025, also was with the Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts preparing Team USA for the women’s FIBA World Cup, which will take place in Germany this September. In addition, Bird and her fianceé, Megan Rapinoe, co-hosted their “A Touch More” podcast featuring Mercury legend Diana Taurasi and ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

Bird has agreed to work as an WNBA analyst  on NBC for the 2026 season. She spoke to The Republic about the post-game incident between UConn coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and several other topics.

On Women’s Final Four’s GEICO partnership supporting youth athletes.

“When I think back on my early days and what got me to where I am now, none of us are doing this alone. Whether it’s the support from family members, friends, coaches, you name it, none of us are doing this alone. … You saw it in Phoenix at the Final Four, GEICO’s presence, they understand that when you show up for communities in meaningful ways, it’s going to have real impact. … I can only imagine what it would have been like to have a brand like GEICO be around when I was growing up. Women’s basketball wasn’t there yet, so it’s wonderful to see how GEICO’s showing up.”

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On Dawn Staley accepting Geno Auriemma’s apologies for his post-game outburst at Women’s Final Four.

“I thought Dawn’s statement was incredibly classy and professional. I’m really glad that they spoke directly. I thought what she said really was right on time because her voice, she’s clearly built program and built that platform for herself. So when she speaks, people listen. … I think for Coach Auriemma, I spoke about this on the live recording of our podcast this past weekend and he agrees — he was in the wrong. It was disappointing. It wasn’t acceptable and I think wasn’t up to the (UConn) program’s standards. You bring up standards and he knows that. … What is so great is that is these are two people who want to move women’s basketball forward and that’s what that statement represents to me. But, of course, it doesn’t take away what happened, which was unfortunate, but maybe for the two of them to connect, that could be a good thing moving forward. (Note: Both coaches released statements April 7 saying they had since spoken and that Auriemma had apologized directly. Both expressed their respect for each other).

On NBA approving a Seattle expansion team, SuperSonics’ potential return.

“I was really sad when the Sonics left. That was a really sad moment because I know how important sports teams and any sport are to a city and community. They have incredible impact. Whether it’s on the community itself, whether it’s being able to watch their idols firsthand, it has impact on local businesses. … Now to know there’s an opportunity for (Sonics) to come back, I’m obviously a huge fan of the NBA, huge fan of basketball. For Seattle, the city itself and the people of the city, they deserve an NBA team. They’re hungry for an NBA team. They’ve missed their NBA team, so I’m thrilled that they’re likely coming back.”