Seattle Storm head coach and director of player personnel Brian Agler announced today that Sue Bird has signed a multi-year contract with the Storm.

“With re-signing Sue, and the addition of Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes to the incredibly talented players we already have, I couldn’t be more pleased with how our roster has come together,” Agler said. “I know the fans are just as excited as I am to have Sue continue her career with the franchise that made her the No.1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft.”

Bird has been considered one of the premier point guards in the WNBA since entering the league in 2002. Her 5.6 assists per game average ranks second, and her 1,077 total assists ranks fifth all-time in WNBA history (see chart below). Bird has been named to the All-WNBA First Team four consecutive years from 2002-05, and voted as a starter at the WNBA All-Star Game in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

“Seattle is home for me, and I am very excited to be back,” Bird said. “I can’t wait to get back to Seattle to make another run at a championship. When I heard the Storm was going to stay in Seattle under local ownership, I knew I wanted to come back.”

Bird was selected in 2006 to the elite, 10-member WNBA All-Decade Team. She has also been recognized nationally beyond the WNBA, being selected as a member of the gold medal winning 2004 U.S. Olympic Women’s Senior National Team. She led the WNBA in free throw percentage during the 2002 season, shooting over 91% from the line, and also led the league in assists per game during the 2005 season, averaging 5.9 per contest.

Bird is the franchise’s all-time leader in steals (287), and assists (1,077). She also ranks second in all-time franchise history in points (2,376), games played (193), and minutes played (6,398).

Prior to joining the WNBA in 2002, Bird led the Connecticut Huskies to two NCAA National Championships in 2000 and 2002. She was selected as two-time All-American, was named the 2002 Associated Press and Naismith Player of the Year, and selected three times as the Conseco/Nancy Lieberman-Cline National Point Guard of the Year.

She ranks as UConn’s all-time leader in three-point field goal percentage (.459) and free throw percentage (.892). Bird was named the Best Female College Athlete of the Year at the 10th Annual ESPY Awards in 2002, and was selected as the Female Sports Star of the Year by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at the 68th Annual Sports Star of the Year Awards Banquet in 2003.