Sue Bird spent her childhood trying to convince everyone that Celtics legend Larry Bird was her uncle

• Sue Bird often gets asked if she's related to NBA legend Larry Bird, she told Insider.
• The WNBA star admitted that she used to lie and tell everyone that the Celtics star was her uncle.

Two of the greatest stars in the history of American basketball share the same last name despite not being related.

But as far as WNBA great Sue Bird is concerned, Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird may as well be her uncle. That's what she told everyone, anyway.

When she was a kid growing up in Syosset, New York, Bird would "get asked all the time" if the NBA sharpshooter was a member of her family. She loved getting mistaken for the Indiana native's daughter or niece, so she made a habit of stretching the truth when it came to her family tree.

"It's like a famous story in my childhood school and neighborhood that I lied and I would tell people he was my uncle like all the time," Bird told Insider with a laugh. "I mean, I was like 6 or 7, so I feel like that's excusable."

Fast-forward a few decades, and Bird has become a basketball legend in her own right and has laid claim to her already-famous surname. With four WNBA titles, five Olympic gold medals, 12 WNBA All-Star selections, and more assists than anyone else to ever compete in the league, Larry Bird's fake niece went on to become one of the most accomplished players in women's basketball history.

And now that women's basketball and women's sports in general are starting to receive the mainstream media attention they've long sought, Bird has become a household name among the American public — not just in WNBA circles. You may have even spotted her in one of her many TV commercials running during this year's March Madness.

In one such ad, Bird stars alongside none other than her "Uncle Larry." And she told Insider that, while filming, she "actually got to share that story with Larry, so that was a highlight for me."

"So I told the story and I was like, 'Yeah, so you've been an honorary member of my family, you just didn't know it,'" Bird recalled. "And he was was like, 'I'm honored. That's an honor.' I was like, 'Thanks, Larry.'"

Now 41 years old, Bird is the oldest active WNBA player and announced in January that she'd be returning to the league for "one more year." The 2022 season tips off in May, and should the Seattle Storm win a fifth championship before the legendary point guard officially retires, Bird will be the sole owner of the WNBA record for most titles won by any player.