MANILA, Philippines — Sue Bird loves telling this story. She’s on a plane, flying home from the Athens Olympics, and a flight attendant approached to ask if the pilot could see her gold medal. The next thing Bird knew, the medal was being passed up and down the aisles so everyone could touch it.
She was an ambassador of the game on that flight. And now the title is official.
FIBA formally introduced Bird, the now-retired U.S. great, on Friday as the global ambassador for the 2026 Women’s Basketball World Cup that will be played in Berlin. Bird takes the role from Pau Gasol, who served as ambassador for the 2022 women’s tournament in Sydney.
“What’s really symbolic about that moment is when you’re representing your country, it’s not just you,” Bird said in Manila, where the men’s World Cup is wrapping up this weekend. “It’s not just a team or a city. It is the entire thing and it really hit me in that moment. And I was very fortunate to be in five World Cups to also that feeling with USA on my chest, a bunch of different qualifiers in between, and of course five Olympics. It’s really special. Never took that moment for granted. And now in this seat, I get to have impact a different way.”
Bird is a nine-time major international gold medalist — five in the Olympics, four in the…
