Sue Bird, at 40 years old, got a surprising revelation during a chat with her teammate Mikiah “Kiki” Herbert Harrigan, who is 22 years old.
Bird shared her amazement during a preseason media session before the start of the season, where she discovered that Harrigan’s mother is the same age as her.
Sharing a light-hearted moment, Bird humorously reflected, “I kind of joke we’re, — myself, Diana [Taurasi], and I don’t say this lightly, LeBron James, Tom Brady — I think we’re changing the conversations … of what it means to have a long career as an athlete. I think the way I always joke about it is 40 is the new 30.”
Bird further elaborated on the amusing situation, “Although, I found out today — oh my gosh. Guys, this is just terrible. I found out today that my new teammate, Kiki, her mom is my age! We have the same birthday! Like, she’s 40 the same way I’m 40.”
She continued to express her surprise, “Herbert Harrigan was like, ‘She’s excited to meet you.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, she probably wants to, like, hang out and get drinks.’ We’re the same age! That blew my mind.”
Despite the unexpected discovery, Bird remains optimistic about how athletes are redefining aging in sports, stating, “But anyway, I do think we’re changing the conversation about what it means to be an old athlete, or an older athlete, because we are taking care of ourselves in a way that allows us to continue to be great.”
Bird had a successful previous season, winning the WNBA Championship while maintaining averages of 9.2 points and 5.2 assists.
