Diana Taurasi ends the staple of 20-year WNBA run, calls it a career The 42-year-old is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the sport’s history, and she played her entire career with the Phoenix Mercury, leading them to three WNBA championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014, MySportDab Reports.
Taurasi retires as the league’s all-time leading scorer, at 10,646 points, nearly 3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles.
And cemented her legacy on the world stage, earning six Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA between 2004 and 2024 — the most Olympic gold medals won by any basketball player in history.
Taurasi’s game wasn’t just dominant in the WNBA, though; she showcased it around Europe, playing for clubs like Dynamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and UMMC Ekaterinburg, winning six EuroLeague championships.
Taurasi said in an exclusive interview with Time that she felt it was time to walk away from the game. “I’m just full mentally and physically,” she said. “That’s the best way I could put it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
Taurasi’s career started at UConn where she won three NCAA titles in a row before being selected first overall in the 2004 WNBA Draft.
She was Rookie of the Year in her first season and made 11 All-Star teams during her career. Her best season was 2009, when she won the WNBA most valuable player and finals mvp awards and led Phoenix to a title.
Looking back on her storied career, Taurasi recognized that records eventually fade. “My scoring record, or the six gold medals — someone’s going to come around with the same hunger and put those records in a different name,” she said.
The WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement that Taurasi’s legacy would endure, saying: “She leaves an indelible mark on this league that will be felt for generations.”
Taurasi also bade an emotional farewell to Phoenix fans in September, thanking them for her journey there: “And if it is the last time, it felt like the first time.”
