Storm's last dance with Stewart, Loyd and Bird

Matt Baide | Feb 24, 20220

The best pro basketball team in the state is gearing up for its version of The Last Dance.

For those who don’t know, “The Last Dance” is in reference to Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls and the team that won five championships. The Last Dance season culminated with the Bulls’ sixth championship, defeating the Utah Jazz in the NBA finals on Jordan’s infamous shot in Game 6 in Salt Lake City (sorry, editor Justin).

My parents were Utah Jazz fans — my dad is from Salt Lake City.

The Seattle Storm have a big three of Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird, and all three are coming back this season for what is, most likely, the last dance for this version of the Storm.

Loyd helped lead Notre Dame to back-to-back national championship games in 2014 and 2015, losing to Stewart’s University of Connecticut Huskies both times. Stewart is a four-time NCAA champion with UConn and was named national player of the year three times.

Loyd was the No. 1 overall pick for the Storm in 2015 and Stewart was the No. 1 overall pick by the Storm in 2016. With Bird, the trio won a title in 2018 and won the title in the bubble in 2020, with Stewart being named Finals MVP in both years.

Bird is one of the most decorated players in basketball history. She helped lead UConn to two NCAA titles in 2000 and 2002, won four WNBA championships with the Storm, won five gold medals with the U.S. women’s basketball team and four FIBA World Cups.

After last season and an early playoff exit, it appeared that might be the end of this trio of superstars for the Storm. On Feb. 1, Loyd re-signed with the Storm. On Feb. 2, Stewart re-signed with the Storm on a one-year deal. On Feb. 18, Bird officially re-signed with the Storm for what is most likely her final season at age 41.

The Storm has the most professional sports titles of any team in Seattle, and it could not be more fitting for this team and this trio of players to play its final season in Climate Pledge Arena.

Basketball will always be one of my favorite sports. I grew up watching Jordan, really getting into basketball after the movie “Space Jam,” and my parents put a hoop in our driveway. I remember asking my dad to lower the hoop to 6 feet when I was little so I could dunk and pretend I was Vince Carter in the 2000 slam dunk contest (look it up on YouTube, kids, the dunk contest is nothing compared to those days).

I still play to this day and it is one of the reasons I picked the apartment complex I did, because it has a three-quarter size court in the main complex that I have access to most of the day. There are few things more therapeutic to me than just putting in some headphones, turning on some good music and practicing various shots for an hour or two.

As someone who grew up watching basketball my entire life, it can be difficult to recognize greatness when you’re in the middle of it. Bird is a once-in-a-generation player and I intend on attending at least a couple of Storm games in 2022.

The Seattle Storm begins its season May 6 in Climate Pledge Arena against the Minnesota Lynx. The defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky come to Seattle on May 18. I hope to see some of you at a game this season.

Bring back the Sonics.