People I (Mostly) Admire 12. Sue Bird: “You Have to Pay the Superstars.”
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Mar 14, 2026 
Sue Bird, legendary WNBA point guard and four-time champion and Olympic gold medalist, reflects on career longevity and smart practice. She talks about clutch performance, court feel, and equipment differences between men’s and women’s basketball. She also discusses WNBA economics, pushing to pay top players more, playing overseas, and life choices like fertility and living openly.
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Preserve Your Body To Extend Your Career
- Protect your body and adapt training to extend your career.
- Bird limits court time, uses pool and spin bike conditioning, and studies film to keep playing at 40 after multiple knee surgeries.
Clutch Is Maintaining Not Improving
- Pressure mainly separates those who maintain performance from those who decline.
- There are few players who truly improve under pressure; being 'clutch' usually means holding steady while others falter.
Fans And Familiarity Improve Shooting Rhythm
- Home-court familiarity and crowd emotion subtly boost performance.
- Bird notes visual cues in a familiar arena and fan anticipation increase shooting rhythm; WNBA and NBA bubbles showed slightly higher shooting without fans.