Diana Taurasi and the challenge of saying goodbye and discovering what’s next

PHOENIX — As Diana Taurasi recently boarded a flight to New York, her 7-year-old son, Leo, had a question.

“Is retirement sad?” he said.

In late February, Taurasi, a 20-year veteran of the Phoenix Mercury and widely viewed as one of basketball’s greatest talents and personalities, disclosed to Time that she had launched her last jump shot, talked her last trash. She was retiring from the sport she had played for most of her life.

What that meant, however, was taking shape. And still is.

“That was the longest four-hour plane ride to New York ever — just thinking about if it’s sad,” Taurasi said at a retirement news conference Thursday.

Shortly after arriving at the organization’s practice facility, Taurasi said her decision hadn’t seemed real until she entered the building and saw everyone gathered for the occasion. She hadn’t been there since Phoenix’s last pregame shootaround in September. Memories flooded her mind.

A sports retirement news conference is unique. It might be the most emotional moment of a superstar’s career: a time to reflect, a time to thank everyone, a time to say goodbye to the driving force of greatness.

Nearly a year ago, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce announced his retirement. Wearing a black muscle shirt, the 13-year NFL veteran sat down and thanked everyone for coming. He looked at his speech. His eyes watered. “Oh, man,” Kelce said. He paused for 30 seconds. He talked for a minute. He broke down again.

On June 16, 2022, Seattle Storm star Sue Bird announced on social media that she would retire at the end of the season. At a news conference, Bird, then 41, referenced a comment New York Yankees star Derek Jeter had made when he retired, saying she looked forward to feeling young again, not like an aging athlete. She was doing fine, rolling through each question until she said she felt like she could no longer play at a high level. Then emotion hit. A staffer handed Bird a box of tissues.

In 2015, Kobe Bryant announced his retirement in The Players’ Tribune. The Los Angeles Lakers star wrote a love letter to basketball, saying he would leave at season’s end.

Taurasi, 42, didn’t break down Thursday — her sense of humor made for a powerful shield — but her news conference was emotional all the same. Even though the game has changed, an elevation in which Taurasi has played a significant role, players like this rarely are found. Not in the next draft or even the next five or 10.

Phoenix had her for 20 years. Watched her win three titles and become the WNBA’s career scoring leader. Taurasi had slowed over the years, but her game was still sharp. She still seemed to have at least another season, maybe more.

Bryant said his retirement came down to a simple question: Taurasi on Thursday described a similar situation. After last season, she took time away to get her mind right. Typically, she starts training Jan. 1. But January came and went. By mid-February, the motivation to prepare still had not kicked in. Taurasi knew.

“I knew in my heart that I didn’t have it in me anymore,” she said.

This hits athletes in different ways. After WNBA star Candace Parker announced her retirement last year, she said she would need time to mourn — that no matter how much a player prepares to say goodbye, you can’t be ready for the gap it leaves in your soul.

In an understated way, Taurasi acknowledged she’s going through this. This is the game she has played since she was 7, the driving force in her life for as long as she can remember. “I don’t like to outwardly show my sadness, but I am sad,” she said. “It’s all the things that in life I always loved to do.”

Then she pivoted, tough as always. Taurasi said she thought maybe it was more emotional for family and friends who have supported her. She pointed out former practice players in the audience, assistant coaches, even a photographer for “taking pictures of my ugly face for the last 20 years.”

The biggest question was one she did not fully answer. Taurasi said the last couple of weeks she has understood what it means to be present at home. In the past, she was there, but her mind always drifted to the next game, next season, next free agency. She said she looks forward to focusing on family: her wife, Penny Taylor, and their kids, Leo and Isla.

Taurasi said she would like to stay involved in basketball, in Phoenix if possible. She could fit seamlessly into any broadcast team, WNBA or NBA. But she really doesn’t know. Taurasi said she still works out. Taylor asks why. She doesn’t have a good answer. It’s just what she’s always done to better herself. Old habits die hard.

Reflection will come. Taurasi will always be in the “greatest” discussion. She was among the fiercest, most competitive athletes of her generation. And her goal never changed.

“It’s pretty simple,” said Taurasi, who will go into the Mercury’s Ring of Honor in 2026. “I just wanted to win. I didn’t do it for a little bit of fame, a little bit of money. I didn’t do it for any of that. I did it literally to win and to have the respect of the people around me. And I kept that circle really small and tight. And I think that is the most important thing when you go through this journey, which is really just life to me. It just happened to be basketball.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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