Mohegan — Connecticut Sun post Jonquel Jones made sure to let Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird know how she felt about her at the WNBA All-Star Game on July 10.

“I was hyping her up and telling her how much we appreciated her when they gave her flowers,” Jones said. “She’s just really humble. She’s very approachable. She’s cool, down to earth. … To see her be that way, (it’s) very refreshing and it really just makes you want to pull for her.

Jones then quipped, “Not (Thursday night), but in every other game.”

Thursday could be the final time that Bird and teammate Briann January play in Connecticut as both have announced they’re retiring at the end of this season. They will be honored before the game at Mohegan Sun Arena (7 p.m., NESN Plus).

There’s a chance that the Sun (19-9) and Seattle (18-10) meet in the WNBA playoffs.

Bird is one of the most beloved players in both WNBA and UConn women’s basketball history. She’s a four-time WNBA champion and the league’s all-time leader in assists (3,181) and games played (572).

“I think Sue Bird paved the way for a lot of us,” Sun guard Courtney Williams said. “Connecticut obviously is going to show her crazy love. I’m just excited for her to get her flowers.”

Williams then added with a laugh, “Hopefully she don’t go to crazy but she has a nice little game.”

January played her previous two seasons for the Sun and ranks as one of the best people to ever grace their locker room. She helped them tie the franchise record for wins last year (26) as well as set the franchise record for best winning percentage in a single season (.813).

January, a 14-year veteran, was a six-time WNBA All-Defensive Team pick and started for the Indiana Fever during their shocking run to the 2012 WNBA championship.

“(She was) a very important member (of the Sun) and we just love her,” Sun assistant Brandi Poole said.

Thursday night’s game is already significant enough because it will affect both Connecticut (19-9) and the overall WNBA standings. The Sun can clinch their sixth-straight playoff berth with a win and losses by the Atlanta Dream and the Dallas Wings.

Atlanta hosts the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday while Dallas hosts the Washington Mystics.

The top five teams in the overall standings are tightly bunched. The defending champion Chicago Sky (21-7) are in first place, followed by the Las Vegas Aces (20-8), Connecticut, Seattle and Washington (17-11).

The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs and there won’t be byes unlike previous seasons. The Sun own the tiebreaker against Seattle and Washington but lost the season series to Chicago and Las Vegas.

The Storm are a much different team than the one Connecticut played earlier in the season as they’ve added Tina Charles. The three-time Olympian signed a free agent contract with the Phoenix Mercury during the offseason but wanted out in late June. She and and the team agreed to a “contract divorce” on June 25, allowing her to sign with the Storm three days later as she seeks an WNBA championship that has eluded her.

Seattle has a league-high four players from the 2020 USA Basketball gold medal-winning team — Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Bird and Charles. It also has two members of the 2020 Olympic Australian national team, Ezi Magbegor and Stephanie Talbot, the former who started before Charles’ arrival.

Stewart is on the shortlist of WNBA MVP candidates this season as she’s shot 45.2% and averaged a league-high 21.3 points with 7.4 rebounds. Loyd has averaged 15.9 points and Charles 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in her 10 games with the team.

n.griffen@theday.com