Gold medallists USA’s #12 Diana Taurasi poses with her medal after the women’s Gold Medal basketball match between France and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Gold medallists USA’s #12 Diana Taurasi poses with her medal after the women’s Gold Medal basketball match between France and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi drives to the basket as the Sparks’ Crystal Dangerfield defends during the first half on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi drives to the basket against the Sparks’ Crystal Dangerfield during the first half on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, left, talks with with center Brittney Griner on the bench during the first half of their game against the Sparks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi looks on during the first half of their game against the Sparks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi celebrates after scoring her 10,000th career point in 2023. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, the former Chino Don Lugo High School star is the only player in league history to reach the 10,000-point milestone. She’ll also be playing to extend her record for most Olympic titles in U.S. basketball history to six. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Diana Taurasi (12), of Team USA, is fouled by Caitlin Clark, left, of Team WNBA, during the first half of a WNBA All-Star basketball game Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury celebrates with fans after defeating the Chicago Sky in overtime in Game 2 of the 2021 WNBA Finals on Wednesday night in Phoenix. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury attempts a shot against the Chicago Sky during the first half of Game 2 of the 2021 WNBA Finals on Wednesday night in Phoenix. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi drives on Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley during the first half of Game 2 of the 2021 WNBA Finals on Wednesday night in Phoenix. Taurasi paced the Mercury to an overtime win that evened the best-of-five series. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Team Delle Donne’s Diana Taurasi in the first half of the game against Team Candace Parker at the WNBA All-Star basketball game Saturday, July 28, 2018 in Minneapolis. Candace Parker’s team won 119-112. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)
Seattle Storm rookie and L.A. native Jordin Canada, right, tries to drive past Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi in a game earlier this season. Canada and the Storm play open the WNBA Finals on Friday against the Washington Mystics. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
With a simple layup, with less than a minute to go in the first half of the Mercury’s 90-59 loss to the Sparks, Diana Turasi finished with 19 points for the day and 7,494 for her career, taking over the WNBA’s all-time scoring lead in 2017. (Getty Images).
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Gold medallists USA’s #12 Diana Taurasi poses with her medal after the women’s Gold Medal basketball match between France and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
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PHOENIX — Diana Taurasi is retiring after 20 seasons, ending one of the greatest careers in women’s basketball history.
The WNBA’s career scoring leader and a three-time league champion, Taurasi announced her retirement on Wednesday in an interview with Time magazine. The Phoenix Mercury — the only WNBA team she played for — also confirmed her decision.
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi told Time. “That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
With her taut hair bun and supreme confidence, Taurasi inspired a generation of players while racking up records and championships.
Taurasi was the 2000 Naismith High School Player of the Year at Don Lugo High in Chino. She then led UConn to three straight national titles from 2001-04 and kept on winning after the Mercury selected her with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 WNBA draft.
“It’s hard to put into words, it really is, what this means. When someone’s defined the game, when someone’s had such an impact on so many people and so many places. You can’t define it with a quote,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s a life that is a novel, it’s a movie, it’s a miniseries, it’s a saga. It’s the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.”
The 42-year-old won her sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games and finishes her WNBA career with 10,646 points, nearly 3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles.
In addition to her three WNBA championships with the Mercury, Taurasi won six Euroleague championships while playing year-round most of her career. She was the 2009 WNBA MVP and is one of four players to earn WNBA Finals MVP honors more than once (2009, 2014).
“Diana is the greatest to have ever played the game. I’ve been a fan of her my entire life, she is the ultimate leader and teammate,” Mercury owner Mat Ishbia said in a statement. “She’s had an incredible impact on our franchise, our community and the game of basketball. Her name is synonymous with the Phoenix Mercury and she will forever be part of our family.”
Taurasi made the all-WNBA first team 10 times and was on the first or second team a record 14 times. She’s also an 11-time WNBA All-Star, four-time USA Basketball female athlete of the year and was the 2004 WNBA rookie of the year.
“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport,” Auriemma said. “For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball, Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period. I’ve had the pleasure of being around her for a lot of those moments, and she’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever coached.”
The Glendale, California, native holds numerous WNBA records, including playoff scoring, field goals, 3-pointers and 30-point games. She also holds 16 Mercury records.
For her career, Taurasi averaged 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds. She averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists while leading the Mercury to the playoffs during her 20th season.
“In her prime years, she was a whole last problem. I mean, she just scored at all three levels,” Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Just nasty out there. Just had that nasty, which I love. Like, you love that as a as a competitor. So our league is going to miss her.”
