Why Sue Bird will be back even after another knee surgery

On Thursday, Sue Bird underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery. Her left knee has been a problem since she tore her ACL as a freshman at UConn, more than 20 years ago. She missed the 2013 season after she had to have a cyst removed from her knee, and had another in 2017 that forced her to miss games.

On the way to netting the most assists and playing the most games and most minutes in league history, Bird had to constantly hope her left knee wouldn't betray her. But once more, she had to get cut so she can make it back onto the court to play basketball again.

“It’s surgery, so you never know what’s going to happen,” Bird told the Seattle Times. “Obviously, you have to have an awareness of that, but as an athlete the way I’ve always approached it is like I’m getting this to make me better. I’m getting this to extend my career.”

What's most impressive about Bird is that through all of this, she has stayed remarkably consistent. She has averaged double digits in scoring in every one of her seasons in the WNBA and in her sophomore through senior years at UConn. Her presence around Team USA has been just as fruitful. In four opportunities, she's made four Olympic teams and won four Olympic gold medals.

After every injury, every setback and every time it's been apparent she should just put away her Kyrie 5s for good, she has come back and been the exact Sue Bird the Storm has needed her to be. She was a key part of Seattle's WNBA championships in 2004, 2010 and 2018.

And that's why it's not smart to count her out, even as the team remains concerned that Bird won't be able to get back to the WNBA before the regular season ends in September.

The one thing that may raise questions, though, is her age, 38. The older anyone — even a transcendent athlete — gets, the harder it is to come back. Surgeries aren't as easy to shake off. Take a look at fellow thirtysomethings Dwyane Wade and LeBron James and what they had to do to recover from games. While their younger teammates took showers and moved on, Wade and James had bags of ice on their knees and shoulders. Nothing comes easy for athletes in their 30s.

But like Wade and James, Bird has recognized that even as she is rehabbing her knee, she has to play a different role with the team.

“My knowledge of the league, my experience, my knowledge of the team — of our offenses our defenses — I feel like I have the level of a coach in that knowledge,” Bird told The Athletic. “What I bring is that I’ve been out there. I know the nuances and subtleties of being on the court with this team. I can bring both of those and still be able to help."

A motivated Sue Bird who has had time to study and coach from the sidelines — even after another knee surgery— is not someone whom anyone in the WNBA should want to face.