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After starting her basketball career in high school, Taurasi quickly gained fame. She clinched the Naismith Award in 2000 and later led UConn to three NCAA Division I Women’s National Championships from 2001 to 2004.
Her talent prompted the Phoenix Mercury to select her as the first overall pick in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has been a driving force behind the Mercury’s success, securing three WNBA titles in 2007, 2009, and 2014.
In 2021, she became the first player in WNBA history to exceed 9,000 career points and reached the magic 10,000-point mark in 2023.
Diana Taurasi: Olympic record-maker
Taurasi has been part of the U.S. women’s basketball setup for two decades. Her teammate in Athens, Dawn Staley, coached her at Tokyo 2020 with Seimone Augustus—a three-time gold medallist alongside Taurasi—and was part of the committee selecting the USA women’s basketball team for Paris 2024.
Even Sue Bird, Taurasi’s long-time team-mate and a five-time gold medallist herself, has retired, underlining the passage of time and Taurasi’s enduring legacy in the sport.
Speaking to Olympics.com in November 2023 in anticipation of attending Team USA training camps for Paris 2024, Taurasi said: “Every time I come to one of these camps, it gives me this hit of energy and adrenaline that we have so much to represent. USA Basketball is such an amazing culture of history and partnership, teammates, and all these relationships that you build throughout your whole career.
“You put the jersey on for the next person, and people have done that for me, and hopefully, I’m doing it for the next generation.”
Taurasi only played in five of the USA’s games at Paris 2024, logging 11.2 minutes per contest. Yet her veteran presence was pivotal in guiding her teammates to the Olympic crown, particularly in the gold medal game against France—a thrilling fixture that came down to the final seconds as the USA prevailed 67-66.
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