Diana Taurasi opens up on end of 20-year career with Phoenix Mercury

Diana Taurasi said her retirement became clear when she realized that she was “physically, mentally just full with the game of basketball.” (Photo by Spencer Barnes/Cronkite News)

PHOENIX – Diana Taurasi can sum up her iconic 20-year career in five words.

“It’s pretty simple: I just wanted to win,” Taurasi said Thursday during her retirement news conference at the Phoenix Mercury practice facility, where the basketball courts are named in her honor.

The WNBA superstar announced her retirement Feb. 25, in an interview with TIME Magazine. She returned to the Phoenix Mercury practice facility for the first time since her last shootaround. On the same day, the team announced she will enter the “Ring of Honor.”

The Mercury staff wore orange shirts that honored her. They held posters with the words, “Thank you Dee.”

The back of the posters included a list of Taurasi’s career accomplishments that included three consecutive NCAA championships with UConn (2002-2004), three WNBA championships (2007, 2009, 2014) and six Olympic gold medals. Drafted by the Mercury as the first overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft, she retired as the WNBA all-time leading scorer (10, 646) and the only player with more than 10,000 points. She also has WNBA’s record for most career 3-pointers (1,447).

Taurasi said she knew in January and February that she didn’t have the desire to suit up for a 21st season and added that she can now reflect on what the past 20 years have meant.

Phoenix Mercury employees line up outside the team’s practice facility Thursday as they await Diana Taurasi’s arrival. (Photo by Natalie Guzman/Cronkite News)

“I thought really hard about maybe playing again, but I knew that in my heart, I was physically, mentally just full with the game of basketball,” Taurasi said. “Being in this city for 20 years, to me, is the one thing that is the most important thing in the world.”

“Championships, points, all of those things will be broken, hopefully not soon, but the character and loyalty you show as a person every single day — that’s what people care about, that’s what people remember.”

Taurasi attended the press conference with her wife, Penny Taylor, and their two children, Leo and Isla.

“Is retirement sad?” she said her son asked.

“It is sad,” Taurasi responded.

While Taurasi said calling it a career comes with challenges, she thinks it’s more emotional for her family and friends who supported her throughout her journey.

Taurasi said it’s time to return the favor and support her friends and family now, but doesn’t know exactly the next step for life after basketball. Taurasi said she’s still training at home like it’s a typical season because she’s still trying to improve, but not only on the court.

“I’ve been so addicted to the game of basketball for the last 30 years, it’s all I’ve thought about, it’s all I’ve prepared for, it’s the thing that motivated me to become a better person every day,” Taurasi said.