Sue Bird Leads Team to WNBA Finals While Playing With Broken Nose

Despite nursing her fifth broken nose, out athlete Sue Bird dominated in the Seattle Storm's deciding game in the WNBA semifinals Tuesday night, winning the game for the team in the fourth quarter.

The Storm was down by four against the Phoenix Mercury with less than seven minutes to go, but Bird scored 14 points, including four three-pont shots, in a heroic show of athleticism, giving the Storm a 94-84 victory, ESPN reports. The team will now face the Washington Mystics in the finals, which begin Friday.

Her performance left the basketball world breathless, with greats Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas, and more cheering her on.

Bird is one of the most visible out athletes in basketball. In June, she posed nude with her partner, Olympic soccer star Megan Rapinoe, for the cover of ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue.

"The way I see it is more how you want to change the conversation or change the narrative of things," Bird told the magazine. "I think having a gay couple on [the cover], hopefully it just becomes the norm. You want it to not be an issue. You want it to just be, Oh, another couple is on there. You know, I think for us to be on it is the first step in that direction."