Sue Bird launches "Dream Draft" with eBay
A collection of 190+ WNBA sports cards and memorabilia hand curated by Sue Bird, launched with eBay in a collection titled "Sue Bird's Dream Draft." The goal of the collection; to feature the past, present, and future of women's basketball. The task of hand-selecting a grouping that encompasses the game of women's basketball, for many would be a daunting task, but Bird shared "For me, when I was picking this, yeah it’s a little intimidating because there’s so much; so many great players, so many great moments, so many different collectibles for each player even. But there’s also a feeling to it. So I basically went on all of that; player, what the actual item is, and how it made me feel.
"How it made me feel", was a common theme amongst the items chosen as a part of the Dream Draft. One of the most unique items in the “Dream Draft” is a true piece of WNBA history; a ticket from Lisa Leslie’s first dunk in the WNBA. On July 30, 2002, Leslie became the first player to ever dunk in a WNBA game, forever etching herself into the fabric of the game. For Bird, “every single item I chose for this Dream Draft, there’s something tied to it. There’s a connection to it. There’s a memory tied to it.” That was no different for Leslie’s ticket.
“Luckily I wasn’t there. They were playing the Miami Sol. Thankful that I wasn’t on the other side of it, but I was in the league. And I do remember when that happened, how it felt; I remember all the conversation, and so that was a no-brainer."
The legends that came before this new wave of women's basketball that has taken over, allowed for this surge of new fans to be built. "The past" in this collection are equally as important as "the present". "You have to know the history of the league to understand what’s happening in real time. In order to know and feel what the young players like Caitlin (Clark), Angel (Reese), Paige (Bueckers), who are all in my dream draft; Cameron Brink, even A’ja (Wilson) and Kelsey Plum. To understand what they're doing, you have to understand what’s been done.”
With that, it can't be understated how significant this generation of players has not only impacted the WNBA, but also the collectibles market as a whole. eBay reported searches for “WNBA” rose 480% year-over-year (Jan–Apr 2025 vs. Jan–Apr 2024), the number of WNBA jerseys sold increased more than 170% (2024 vs. 2023), and the number of WNBA trading cards sold grew 650% from 2020 to 2024. Four of the top 5 best-selling active players on eBay in 2024: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Sabrina Ionescu all have an item in this collection.
"eBay has done such a great job of building their inventory, in terms of understanding how important this is, but it’s also super easy for anyone who wants to get started in collecting, to do it with eBay.
Starting your own collection can take so many forms, and can leave you feeling overwhelmed, but Bird shared a few good ways to start: "A lot of people have favorite players, a lot of people lean one way or another towards a team. When the auction does start, it will be between June 10-17, and that I think can be a guiding light when they get into this, like “Ooo, what’s making me feel something.” Some stuff can be a dime a dozen, but it makes you feel something. And some stuff is 1/1 or /5 or /10, and that has special value not even monetarily but special value too. So I think you can look at it both ways."
The event runs from June 10 at 6 a.m. PT through June 17, and invites fans to build their own dream roster. If worried about finding something in your price point, Bird did note, "The beauty of this auction is everything starts at .97 cents as a nod to the original WNBA year 1997. So you might be able to get some good steals here."
