Shortly before a bronze statue of Sue Bird was unveiled outside Climate Pledge Arena, an onlooking fan chimed in during a brief moment of silence. “You’re the GOAT, Sue!”

The eighth-ranked Storm fell to the fourth-ranked Mercury 85-82 on Sunday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 14,169 at Climate Pledge Arena.

“The truth is that I never set out to be the first at anything, but if being the first means I won’t be the last, if this statue means that 20 years from now there will be statues of other WNBA great...