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After 20 seasons in Phoenix, Taurasi will be inducted into the Mercury Ring of Honor in the summer of 2026
PHOENIX — After 20 seasons as the face of the Phoenix Mercury, Diana Taurasi has announced her retirement from basketball. The three-time WNBA Champion and the leagues all-time leading scorer was celebrated in downtown Phoenix with hundreds of Mercury personnel from the past and present packing out Diana Taurasi Court at the team’s new state-of-the-art practice facility. With her family in the front row, DT opened up about her decision to call it a career, the sadness that comes with retirement and plans for her future. In an exclusive interview with 12Sports journalist Lina Washington, the G.O.A.T. reflects on what the next chapter looks like for herself and the city she’s called home since 2004.
Lina Washington: Dee, you just said it. You’ve been chasing championships your whole life. Now that you’re full of basketball, what are you chasing?
Diana Taurasi: I think the little moments in life. For the last 20 years, obviously, here in Phoenix, but since I was a little kid, I was just always obsessed with the game of basketball and I still am. But I’m going to have to find a different way to fill that void. I’m just going to be excited to be present, be home, be with the kids, really do the things that I’ve been so busy to do. I’ve always kind of sped walked through everything to get to where I needed to go to play basketball and do that. So, I’m open to anything, and that’s exciting too.
LW: Little Dee, Don Lugo [High School] Dee,… What would you tell her if you could go back in time and tell her about her future, what would you say?
DT: “You’re not going to believe it.” everything that’s happened in the last two decades, When I was in high school, I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about what’s the next court I’m gonna go play at, who can give me a ride to the next high school to the next au game during the summer? Oh, we’re playing at three and Huntington Beach. Alright, cool. Let’s get a snack here, and then we’re going to Long Beach to play another game. I was just so focused on being around my friends and playing the game that I loved. I never looked too far ahead. I think that’s one of the things that makes it so special is now I can kind of look back and really enjoy what the last 20 years looked like.
LW: It’s going to look different for the X Factor. This is a whole new era. You have fans that haven’t seen a Mercury team without you in it. New faces, new resources… What would be your message to them?
DT: The X Factor, like I’ve said before, they’re all in and that’s one thing that’s made this place so special for me. They’re always ready to go and I think with the new roster and with the new vision for this team, it’s special. And I’m going to be a part of it just like them [the fans]. So, I’ll tell them do what they do because they do it better than anyone else.
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on X and Instagram: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, email Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
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