Diana Taurasi, WNBA’s career scoring leader, 6-time Olympic champ, announces retirement

PHOENIX — Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer and three-time champion who also won six Olympic gold medals and three NCAA women’s basketball titles, is retiring after a 20-season professional career.

Taurasi, 42, made the announcement Tuesday in an interview with Time magazine.

“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi told the magazine. “That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”

Taurasi scored 10,646 points with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, more than 3,000 ahead of No. 2 leading scorer Tina Charles. She is the only WNBA player to top 10,000 points in scoring. A five-time scoring champion in the women’s pro league, Taurasi was the No. 1 pick of the WNBA draft in 2004 and led the Mercury to WNBA titles in 2007, 2009, and 2014, ESPN reported.

Taurasi also scored 1,476 points in 72 playoff games, the sports news website reported. She was also the WNBA’s MVP in 2009 and Finals MVP in 2009 and 2014.

She won her sixth Olympic gold medal at last summer’s games in Paris.

At the University of Connecticut, Taurasi led the Huskies to three consecutive NCAA titles from 2002 to 2004.

Josh Bartelstein, the chief executive officer of the Mercury, called Taurasi “the face of the Mercury and women’s basketball for 20 years,” ESPN reported.

“She revolutionized the game with her scoring ability, infectious personality and the edge she brought to the court every night,” Bartelstein said. “There will only ever be one Diana Taurasi, and she will continue to inspire us for years to come and remain part of the fabric of this city.”

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said that Taurasi “had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.”

“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,” Auriemma said, according to The Associated Press. “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.”

“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport,” said Auriemma, who also coached Taurasi during the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. “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.

“I’m happy for her and her family. At the same time, I’m sad that I’ll never get to see her play again, but I saw more than most.”

Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever’s star guard, captured Taurasi’s career in a one-word post on her Instagram story.

“Legend,” Clark wrote.

Taurasi also excelled overseas, winning six Euroleague titles during her 12-year career in Russia and Turkey, Time reported. She was also a three-time Euroleague MVP and a three-time Russian League Player of the Year.

Taurasi was voted by fans as the WNBA’s “GOAT” during the league’s 25th season in 2021, ESPN reported.

“To me, she’s the greatest player,” said Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who played and coached against Taurasi. “She just hooped. I think one of the most underrated parts of her game was her passing. Her 3-ball and pull-up jumpers got so much attention, but she literally does everything.

“I have a résumé,” Taurasi told Time. “It’s not up to me to grade it.”

“Until someone comes along and eclipses what she’s done, then yes, she is” the GOAT, Auriemma told Time.

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