USA Basketball will name Sue Bird, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA legend, its next managing director for the women's national team in the lead-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to The Athletic. Per the report, the official announcement will take place on Thursday at the Nike headquarters in New York City as part of a shift in the "structuring" of USA Basketball.
In the role, Bird, 44, would have multiple responsibilities, including helping select both the player rosters and coaching staff for the Olympic and World Cup teams, which The Athletic pointed out is "a departure from a longstanding structure of using a committee to select players and coaches for national team rosters."
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, the roster was selected by a committee led by Jen Rizzotti. Also involved in the process were South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin and Atlanta Dream general manager Dan Padover. By comparison, the U.S. men's national team has used a managing director since 2005. That role is currently occupied by Grant Hill.
Team USA has an all-time record of 78–3 at the Summer Games. The 2024 Paris Games marked the Americans' eighth consecutive gold medal, but Team USA beat France in the Gold Medal Game by just one point, 67-66. In the lead-up to the Games, there was also controversy surrounding the makeup of the roster when Caitlin Clark was left off the team. Team USA has not lost an Olympic game since winning bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Before officially retiring in 2022, Bird won five Olympic gold medals and four World Cup titles with the national team.
After an outstanding career at UConn with two NCAA Tournament titles, Bird started her professional career as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2002 WNBA Draft. The 13-time All-Star spent 19 seasons in the league and earned four WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm.
Although the 2028 LA Games are still three years away, the first qualifying event for the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup will take place this November before the World Cup is held in Germany from Sept. 4-13, 2026.
