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Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury looks on during the game against the Washington Mystics at Footprint Center on September 05, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Few players have had the impact on basketball that WNBA legend Diana Taurasi has. The three-time WNBA champion and six-time Olympic gold medalist…
When I asked her at the end of last month during our short Q&A about all her achievements on the court and her influence on a generation of women in sport, the 42-year-old guard summarized it all as a privilege.
“First and foremost, I’m so grateful to be able to do what I love most in life—playing basketball and being a part of a team,” Taurasi said. “To be on one team, in one city, for 20 years has really been a dream come true.”
The Phoenix Mercury lifer scored a total of 10,646 points in 20 seasons, making her the all-time leader in points score. Taurasi also started every game she played for the WNBA franchise, where she averaged 18.8 points per game over her career.
Yet, in addition to all of her on-court accolades as a standout college player at UConn and in the WNBA, Taurasi has been a trailblazer in other areas outside of sports.
Taurasi was selected first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury. After helping the team return to a .500 season in 2004, Taurasi and the Mercury became a perennial contender, booking a playoff spot nearly every year since 2007, when they won their first WNBA Championship. The Mercury also won the league title in 2009 and 2014.
For Taurasi, her identity as a member of the LGBTQ community is important. She acknowledges that her league and the greater basketball community has been a supportive place to play and grow as a person.
“The WNBA has been on the forefront of LGBTQ rights and visibility for a long time, and that is something we really pride ourselves on,” Taurasi said.
She added that October, LGBTQ History Month, gives LGBTQ athletes an additional opportunity and space to tell their stories as a part of American history.
“This month is all about making sure that you are comfortable being true to yourself. Not only has the WNBA given us players a platform to be who we are, but also fans and others who can relate to us. It’s been amazing to be a part of that journey.”
In 2017, Taurasi married Penny Taylor, a former teammate and Australian small forward who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 2004 to 2007. The couple have a son and daughter together.
Most recently, Taurasi has been involved in an awareness campaign for Eczema Awareness Month, which is also observed in October.
“Moderate eczema is something I’ve been dealing with since college,” Taurasi also stated that it was often a distraction from her hoops game and studies while in college. “I frequently had rashes on my arms and hands (and) I felt like eczema was always on my mind. Even before games, which is the last thing I wanted to deal with when getting ready to play.”
She said that for years, she cycled through a variety of prescription lotions and other remedies, but nothing that she tried brought her eczema under control.
“After working with my dermatologist, she recommended I start Dupixent, a treatment for people ages 6 months and older with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe eczema.”
Dupixent, known clinically as dupilumab, is made jointly by pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Regeneron.
“Since starting Dupixent, my skin is clearer, and I feel less itchy overall. While every person is different, I’m grateful to have found a treatment that works for me.”
Taurasi said she hopes to help others who may be going through similar experiences with eczema and has been tasked in partnership with Sanofi and Regeneron to share her story and raise awareness.
When I asked Taurasi about the WNBA recent boom in attendance, this past season, the name of overall No. 1 draft pick came up: another player Caitlin Clark
But was it Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking performances at the end of her college career at the University of Iowa that created a tipping point for millions fans, or is something else at work? Taurasi had thoughts about that.
“There are so many factors that have contributed to the way the WNBA is finally getting its due,” she said. “Caitlin’s success, and the audience so many of the young players have brought into the WNBA are undeniably unlocking factors. (It’s) an aperture effect into what we know is a great product.
Taurasi added: “Now it’s important to make sure we sustain that momentum and keep at the center, all the things that make this game, our league and women’s sports amazing.”
Read Frye’s recent interviews with Ilona Maher and Megan Rapinoe.
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