Sue Bird Quotations

She won the first title. She got to 100 first. Maybe GMs in other cities will see what Anne's done and they won't be ? I don't want to say scared ? but they'll want to hire women coaches.

She's all go. Especially against a team like Sacramento, Betty is just really good at attacking the basket.

She never seemed like she was in pain. That's what great players do.

If we could have just taken care of business, we could have moved on. I'm just going to let this one bother me a little bit more.

We talk about it and we actually did it this time. When a player's out, you have to kind of forget about her in a way, you have to focus on who can play and go into the game with those players. But now that Betty's back I can definitely say honestly that we definitely missed her, and it was good to see her play the way she did, especially on her first time out.

What you gotta think about is what they're saying in their locker room. They need to jump on us. On our home court, they know how successful we are there and they know how huge the game is. It's do or die for them. It's even more important for us to come out and hopefully break their backs in the first 10 minutes.

It hurts. We had an opportunity (to repeat) and we didn't do that, ... They jumped on us early. I don't know what happened. They were hitting everything and it all worked for them.

It definitely helps us to have a lot of ball-handlers out there.

Every higher seed has to do it. I'd rather play the two games at home.

This is a women's league. It's important to have coaches like Anne trailblazing away. ... Women are in the minority for head coaching positions. Anne is kind of the one carrying the load.

This is huge, especially because we're in a position to get a home court in the playoffs. It was not only a win, but a win on the road. Hopefully we can take this momentum to Houston.

This is the worst feeling I ever had, ... They jumped on us. Our defense was so bad. I don't even know what happened.

It was important to us because you want to have a good vibe going in. We're still going to go out tonight and have a good time; I'm sure (Taurasi) won't hold it against me. I'm sure she would have tried to kick my butt if the roles were reversed, anyway.

It's a different group, (and) something a lot of people didn't think we could do. It's pretty amazing. We're pretty proud of it, and we also know that our work is not done. At this point, everybody is 0-0. The slate has been wiped clean. Playoffs are a fresh start and you have to win two games out of three.

It's kind of nice to control our own destiny, and then did.

That's a difference maker. She averaged 24 against us this season. She only had 15, but she can erupt for 40.

It's definitely a surreal feeling. There are a lot of teams in the WNBA that just said, 'Whew, Seattle lost!' I can tell you that much. That's what makes this hurt we had an opportunity to do some great things and defend our title but we didn't.

It's comforting to know that they would put their injuries aside, put the pain aside and still want to go out and win it for themselves and for the team. For them to be able to play the way that they have, it kind of makes you proud.

It's not a matchup between Izzy and Sheryl,

In general, living in a foreign country has been amazing. To experience a new culture, attempt to learn a new language, try new foods. It's something I'll always be grateful for.

I just think what separates him is his ability to really get the most out of his players, out of his teams. Obviously, he's had some great teams and some great players. There's no doubt about that, but it's more than that. It's the way he brings out his best and that's really what separates him, I think, from everybody else.

I haven't thought about last year at all. We've had to play as the defending champions all year and I don't think any team is going to be looking at us thinking that.

You definitely can get caught looking and being a spectator. There were just some incredible plays out there.

You could hear coach Chancellor on the sidelines calling her number, calling her play. She just did a great job.

Going to college and living with someone of another race gave me a different view of what people have to go through.

I have to be more assertive-I have take more control at crunch time.

When you have teammates just as talented as you, it's kind of weird to get all the attention.

I knew I would be able to come back from the injury 100 percent.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but you have to know you're going to make mistakes. It's how you respond to those mistakes that counts.

People probably assume I sleep in my uniform. Then I get up and go to the mall or the market in my uniform.

I like pressure. I thrive on it.

To be successful, you have to expose yourself to different situations-different styles of play, different teammates, different coaching.

I'll play until my knees fall off.