American basketball legend Sue Bird’s career ended with applause as the Las Vegas Aces advanced to the WNBA Finals with a 97-92 win over her Seattle Storm in Game 4 of their semifinal series.
Aces will be awarded in the final. The aftermath of the result that night involved Bird, 41, and the conclusion of her two decades as a pillar of the WNBA and Storm franchise, where she won four titles since she was drafted as No. 1 in 2002.
Five-time Olympic gold medalist Bird stayed on the pitch after the final siren, receiving hugs from the entire Aces roster. She wiped her tears as the crowd cheered and cried with her at the end of her career.
The oldest player in the league, Bird, started the year thinking it would, but made the final decision midway through the regular season.
Las Vegas ruined the party in the regular season finale at home to Seattle when Bird was honored by the franchise and the league for her 21 seasons with the team and 19 as a player, missing two seasons due to “injury” .
And it was the Aces who ultimately took out Bird and the Storm after four tense and stressful games filled with great success and great performances.
The Aces won the best-of-five series 3-1, with each game tense, under pressure and filled with spectacular shots. The Aces ended up doing more, including Chelsea Gray, who made five of six shots in the winning streak and scored 12 of the last 20 points for the Aces.
This will be the third final appearance in the history of the Las Vegas franchise. The Aces lost to Seattle in 2020 in the WNBA bubble played in Florida and the franchise reached the finals in 2008 while still in San Antonio, losing to Detroit.
Breanna Stewart equalized the WNBA playoff record with 42 points, only the fifth player to score 40 or more in a post-season game, and Jewell Loyd added 29. But Seattle couldn’t find a third scorer and the Aces they got an answer for every charge made by Seattle. after Las Vegas took the lead early in the second half.