After a long and decorated career on the court – winning multiple championships in college, in the WNBA, and at the Olympics – Sue Bird will be stepping into a new role with USA Basketball.
Bird, one of the greatest women’s basketball players in history and the wife of two-time World Cup winning soccer star Megan Rapinoe, has officially taken over as the managing director of the women’s national team.
The position was newly created and is set to represent a change to the way USA Basketball organizes its roster and coaching staff.
Rather than in years past, where those decisions were made by a committee, Bird will now bear sole responsibility for forming a team.
‘I played for USA Basketball for so long and always really enjoyed my time with them,’ Bird told The Associated Press.
‘I love representing my country. I love being competitive on that stage. To have that opportunity to do it in a different role is exciting.’
Former women’s basketball star Sue Bird has taken a new role within USA Basketball
Bird, the wife of former two-time World Cup winning soccer star Megan Rapinoe, has now taken over the newly created role of managing director of the women’s national team
Bird (R) won five gold medals with USA Basketball – the second most behind Diana Taurasi (L)
‘We are really, really excited about Sue for so many reasons,’ USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said.
‘Her pedigree and standing in the sport is so strong. Not just in women’s basketball, but all of sport. She’s a tremendous leader, and we’re very excited that she took this on for us.’
Bird is one of the most decorated women’s basketball players in the history of the sport. A two-time national champion in college at the University of Connecticut, Bird won four WNBA titles and five Olympic gold medals in her professional career.
The men’s team has had a managing director for two decades with Jerry Colangelo serving in that spot from 2005 to 2021 before Hill took over.
‘She’s had five Olympic gold medals herself and understands what’s involved,’ Tooley said. ‘Having the managing director position makes it easier to work with the staff for long-term vision of the program.
‘It’s hard to do that with a committee that comes and goes and gets together a handful of times.’
Tooley said Bird’s term will be for four years, the same as the Olympic cycle.
The change to this structure has been in the works for a few years, well before the decision not to select Caitlin Clark for the 2024 Paris Games team that left some people upset.
In college, Bird won two national titles as a member of the UConn Huskies
In addition, Bird won four WNBA titles – all of them coming with the Seattle Storm
‘Discussions happened after the ’21 Olympics, and Sue served on the board last quad,’ Tooley said.
‘We got in discussions about the managing director role, and we sat with her a while and she gave it a lot of consideration and thought. It’s an enormous responsibility.’
Bird said she is used to the pressure of USA Basketball where it’s basically win a gold medal or bust. The Americans have won eight straight, including at the Paris Games.
‘This is a different type of pressure,’ she said. ‘I’m hoping to bring all that I learned as a player, all my experience, all my understanding.
‘The whole goal is to win a gold medal, and it feels at times that’s the only option. … I know what it’s like to be a player, know what it’s like as a player to build teams and have teams come together and see what clicks.’
Before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Americans will play in the FIBA World Cup in Germany next year. The first qualifying event will take place in November. Besides figuring out what players will be on that team, Bird will have to decide who will be coaching the squad. There is no clear-cut choice right now.
‘Of course I’ve started to think about it, jotting some names down here and there,’ Bird said. ‘It’s the first priority without a doubt. There are so many qualified coaches in college and the WNBA.’
Bird said she doesn’t have a specific time frame to have a coach in place.
