Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird became the 16th player in WNBA history to reach the 4,000 point milestone with a pair of free throws with 19.4 seconds left in the first quarter of tonight's game against the San Antonio Silver Stars at KeyArena.
Naturally after the game, Bird downplayed the milestone a bit.
"I joked that it just means that I've been playing a long time," said Bird of the milestone. "I think looking back on my career it will be something that will be special. You're in an elite group when you think about people who have done that. It's got a little bit of meaning to it. I think the assists will always kind of mean a little bit more."
It's fitting that the assists mean more as Bird also became the first player in WNBA history to reach the 4,000 point, 1,500 assist milestone with the free throws.
She became only the second player in history to reach the 1,500 assist milestone last season, joining Los Angeles Sparks point guard Ticha Penicheiro. Bird also became the youngest player to reach 1,000 assists in 2007. Tonight's milestone cements her as among the best point guards ever to play the game, if there was ever any lingering doubt.