Taurasi, who retired Tuesday after 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, is the most accomplished women’s basketball player ever. With three WNBA titles, six Olympic gold medals, an MVP and the league’s all-time scoring record, her resume stands up to anyone’s. The three NCAA championships before going pro and seven Euroleague championships during the WNBA offseason elevate her to legend status.
Her legacy is the league she’s leaving, flourishing now after years of being counted out. Oh, and that bun.
As the Valley sends its basketball GOAT into retirement, here are nine moments from Taurasi’s storied career.
April 17, 2004: The draft
Just 10 days after winning a third straight NCAA championship with the University of Connecticut, Taurasi is selected first overall in the WNBA Draft by Phoenix.
Sept. 30, 2009: The MVP
Taurasi won her first WNBA championship as part of a duo alongside point guard sensation Cappie Pondexter. But by 2009, Taurasi is the unquestioned best player on the Mercury and in the WNBA. Taurasi wins her first and only MVP before capping off the 2009 season with her second ring.
Sept. 13, 2014: The title-clincher
Taurasi sinks the signature shot of her career to deliver a third championship. A fading bank shot over her UMMC Ekaterinburg teammate Courtney Vandersloot gives the Mercury a sweep over the Chicago Sky. Taurasi wins Finals MVP, averaging 6 assists and 20 points per game on 53% shooting.
Feb. 3, 2015: The gap year
One of Taurasi’s most memorable seasons comes in 2015, when she does not play. Instead, Taurasi’s Russian team paid her not to play in her home league for a full year. In an open letter to the X-Factor, as the Mercury fanbase is called, Taurasi writes that her decision “isn’t a statement about the Mercury.” But it did feel like a statement about the WNBA.May 16, 2017: The wedding
Just before her 12th WNBA season, Taurasi weds her former Mercury teammate, Penny Taylor. It doubles as Taurasi coming out to the world, having kept her love life private until the announcement.June 18, 2017: The record
Points 7,488 & 7,489... a new record!#WNBA pic.twitter.com/Ev53quUngQ
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 18, 2017
With the rings piling up, Taurasi sets her sights on the record books. The SoCal native puts up 19 points in a road loss to the Los Angeles Sparks and takes the top spot on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. She’d finish her career with 10,646 points.
Oct. 9, 2021: The final Finals
At age 39, after winning her fifth Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, Taurasi explodes for 14 points in the fourth quarter of a road Game 5 against the Las Vegas Aces to send the Mercury back to the WNBA Finals for the fourth time. With Taylor is about to give birth to the couple’s first child in Phoenix, Taurasi uses a postgame presser to beg her wife to “hold it in” until she can get home.
Aug. 11, 2024: The last Olympics
This moment in the final Olympic game for @DianaTaurasi The tears from Mom and Dad… pic.twitter.com/2ASW882ils
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) August 11, 2024
Upon becoming one of the most decorated American Olympians of all time with an unprecedented sixth gold medal in women’s hoops, Taurasi shares a touching moment courtside with her parents, Mario and Liliana.
