The Denver Nuggets have appointed three-time WNBA champion Sue Bird as a basketball operations associate.

Bird had no plans on operating in such a role as she is keen on playing a 17th season. But after being contacted by the team's president, Tim Connelly, she readily accepted the position and has since referred to it as "the perfect match."

Bird led the Seattle Storm to a championship back in September, after which Connelly reached out to her through a mutual friend and former NBA forward Caron Butler.

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Bird was hired by the Nuggets despite still being an active player, something which she says has handed her the best of both worlds.

A statement from the team's official website reads:

"The Denver Nuggets have added current WNBA Champion Sue Bird to their front office staff as Basketball Operation Associate, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today."

“We are very excited to have Sue join our organization,” Connelly added. “Her resume certainly speaks for itself and as a still active player she will offer an extremely unique perspective.”

via nba.com

Bird, 38, has thanked the organization for the opportunity.

“I’m really excited to join the Denver Nuggets organization. I’m thankful for the opportunity and look forward to learning from some of the best,” she said.

"It was really a perfect match, because here they are giving me this amazing opportunity but also understanding that I'm still a player. I still have a season, and I'm still preparing for that. It's just, for me personally, the best of both worlds."

Bird, the WNBA's all-time assists leader, looked into post-playing careers after retiring from playing overseas during the league's offseason and did some work as a broadcaster for women's college basketball on ESPN. Yet she never expected that a coaching or front-office job would find her before her career was over.

"I never thought of myself in a place to really seek that out because I was still playing," she explained. "I shouldn't sit here and say this was my end goal, but of course coaching has always crossed my mind, of course what it takes to build a championship team now that I've been part of a few, it always crosses my mind.

"It's fun to be part of something that's on the verge of a breakthrough. That's kind of how I view the Nuggets. There's going to be ups and downs, like every season, but that's how I view them. It's exciting."

What This Means

NBA teams have begun integrating women into management over the past few years but Bird is one among a few who have made the transition from the WNBA. Former point guard Becky Hammon has been an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs for five seasons, having functioned in a role similar to Bird's before stepping up.

Bird's former coach Jenny Boucek worked as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings and is now employed by the Dallas Mavericks, while Kristi Toliver, who faced Bird in the WNBA Finals this year, was hired as an assistant coach for player development by the Washington Wizards back in October.

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