Erica Wheeler Dropped Sue Bird With The Ankle Breaker Of The Year

Sue Bird is one of the greatest basketball players of all-time and will be a first ballot Hall of Famer whenever her incredible career ends, as she’s won and dominated at every level from college to the WNBA to international play. I think it’s important to note that before we get to what happened on Sunday night, because the legend got got by Erica Wheeler of the Sparks on a vicious stepback.

As Wheeler drove towards the right elbow she got Bird completely turned to try and cut off her driving lane and pulled the string on a tight crossover for a stepback jumper that sent Bird crashing to the court as half of her body tried to stop while the other half kept going and the result was her tripping over herself.

The replays show exactly what happens to the Hall of Famer, as Bird trips over her own feet and collapses to the floor as Wheeler steps back for the jumper to complete the move of the year in the WNBA.

It’s about as clean of an ankle breaker as you can have, as there’s no off-hand pushing Bird or a trip from someone else’s feet, just Wheeler executing a perfect, tight crossover to pull it back and rise for the jumper as the legend fell face first to the floor. It’s a reminder that anyone can get their ankles taken if they aren’t careful, even one of the best players to ever step on a court.