Sue Bird announced she'll be back for a 19th WNBA season with a hilarious Instagram post about 'one more year'

• Sue Bird hear fans' "one more year" chants and decided to run it back for a 19th WNBA season.
• The superstar point guard announced on Instagram that she's returning to the Seattle Storm in 2022.

Sue Bird is back.

The legendary Seattle Storm point guard is returning for a 19th WNBA season after many expected her to retire following the 2021 campaign. Bird turned 41 in October and is the WNBA's oldest active player by several years.

The league's all-time leading assists leader appears to have internalized fans' cries for "one more year." When the Storm's 2021 season ended with an overtime playoff loss to Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury, the longtime friends and WNBA legends shared an emotional jersey swap in what looked to be the final matchup of their iconic basketball careers.

Fans at Seattle's Angel of the Winds Arena then began chanting "one more year" from the stands, and Taurasi even turned to the crowd and waved her arms to encourage cheers while Bird wiped her eyes with her jersey.

"These fans are gonna make me cry in about two seconds," Bird said as the chants began, then teared up.

"[Basketball has] given me every experience I could ask for," she added later in the courtside postgame interview. "It's given me amazing friends, amazing times whether it's here in Seattle, with USA Basketball, Russia, Connecticut."

"I mean, I could talk forever, but it's been amazing, and I will take my time and make the right decision."

Four months later, she announced her decision with a hilarious Instagram playing off of those final moments from the 2021 season. First, she shared a clip of that postgame interview, then a photo of her walking through a door at the Storm's new home — Climate Pledge Arena. She rounded out the post with a meme that says "When fans chant 'one more year'" paired with Bird's face photoshopped onto a photo of child hanging off of a bunk bed.

"Ok ☺️" she wrote in her caption. "Let's gooooo ."

A post shared by Sue Bird (@sbird10)

On the court, Bird has not shown any signs of slowing down. The then-40-year-old averaged 10 points per game on 43.1% shooting from the floor. Her 41.9% hit rate from beyond the arc ranked top-five in the league, while her 5.3 assists per contest was the sixth-highest in the WNBA.

Bird's top-notch basketball IQ and leadership abilities will undoubtedly help the Storm in their pursuit of a WNBA record-breaking fifth title. Should superstars Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd also return to Seattle, the team will be well positioned to make history.

But for now, Storm fans will relish having one final season to watch their longtime star hit the hardwood. A championship would just be a bonus.