Sue Bird using her eye for talent in NBA role with Nuggets

SEATTLE — On a January evening, Sue Bird slips into Alaska Airlines Arena about an hour before a Washington men’s basketball game and settles into a seat just a few rows up from the court.

Since joining the Denver Nuggets as a basketball operations associate in November, the former UConn star has discovered an affinity for evaluating college and professional players.

However, her status as a Seattle sports legend doesn’t afford the Storm star anonymity, and on this night a steady stream of fans congratulate her for winning a third WNBA title last summer.

Bird makes polite small talk before saying “Sorry, but I need to get back to work.”

She then finds another empty seat where she watches the Huskies and USC Trojans participate in pregame warm-ups, keeping an eye out for potential draft talent.

In her new job with the Nuggets, Bird is learning first-hand about the many roles of an NBA front-office executive. She was in the room as Nuggets management discussed trade options before the NBA trade deadline. She’s actively involved in the team’s predraft conversations, too.

It’s tedious work, but sometimes those mundane duties are juxtaposed with high-profile assignments such as last Friday’s NBA All-Star celebrity game where she coached opposite Hall of Famer Dawn Staley in a star-studded event that included former Sonics standout Ray Allen.

Still, Bird says the best part of her new gig is scouting.

“Actually, Becky Hammon was one of the first people to tell me this, one of the hardest parts is just learning the personnel because there’s so many players,” Bird said. “So you just want to always have an understanding and a grasp of who’s out there. And the only way to do that is to get out there and watch.”

Bird is one of more than 20 current or former WNBA players and coaches who are working in the NBA or G League this season.

It’s a list that includes Hammon, who is San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s top assistant; former Storm coach Jenny Boucek, who joined the Dallas Mavericks’ coaching staff; and longtime WNBA executive Kelly Krauskopf, who was hired by Indiana and became the league’s first female assistant general manager.

No major men’s sports league has ever hired a female coach or general manager, but the NBA has traditionally been the most progressive of the American sports leagues.

Bird