Skylar Diggins has never been one to hold her tongue, and the idea of revisiting a spat with Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi proved to be too much to resist.
Diggins, a six-time All-Star who is playing in her 11th year in the WNBA, spoke in a Vanity Fair interview released Friday, May 23, about the hardest things she has overcome in her WNBA career.
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She pointed to her past working relationships with the Dallas Wings and Phoenix, which she claimed had dissolved because of her pregnancies in 2019 and 2023.
Diggins (formerly known as “Diggins-Smith” before she filed for divorce from her husband in March) also mentioned the Mercury tried to trade her after she and Taurasi had a heated, in-game disagreement in 2022.
“I never spoke out about this because there are so many layers,” Diggins said. “And in hindsight I think I might have handled some things differently. But Phoenix had been trying to trade me because I had a moment with the star player.
“Then, when they found out I was pregnant, they really wanted to trade me.”
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Diggins and Taurasi argued during a timeout late in the second quarter of the Mercury’s 86-74 loss at the Las Vegas Aces on May 17, 2022. They had to be separated by teammates and the coaching staff, and Diggins visibly trembled in anger after she sat on the bench.
Diggins was traded to Phoenix in 2020. The trio of Diggins, Taurasi and Brittney Griner led the team to three playoff appearances, including their 2021 WNBA Finals run. Diggins was the Mercury’s only All-Star in 2022.
Diggins said she and Griner grew close before Griner was detained in a Russian prison for the 2022 season. She called that year “stressful” with little information about how to support Griner, and Diggins got pregnant again.
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In addition, she had a tense relationship with the Mercury’s then first-year coach Vanessa Nygaard in 2022 when they finished 15-21. Nygaard was fired after the team started 2-10 in 2023.
“I was eight months pregnant, and they had to pay me, but they were trying to move me,” Diggins said. “There were new coaches, no one contacted me, they wouldn’t let me park in the parking lot anymore.”
Diggins missed the entire 2023 season while on maternity leave, and the Mercury had the league’s worst record 9-31. She spoke about the misconceived public perception about herself from how she bluntly communicates with teammates and coaches.
“I think if you ask some of my peers they might categorize me as a bit of a gremlin,” Diggins said. “I’m very competitive, I’ve been an antagonist, and I get under people’s skin.
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“But even if the coach, or players ask you to do something, like, ‘Can you say something…?’ You just don’t do it.”
She added about her relationship with Nygaard, “So, for the rest of the year the relationship with me and the coach was rough. But … I was first team WNBA that year.”
In September 2023, Taurasi swiftly replied, “Next question” to a reporter’s question on whether she wanted Diggins to re-sign with Phoenix.
Diggins left Phoenix and signed a two-year deal with Seattle during free agency in the offseason after 2023. She led the Storm with game-highs of 24 points and 14 assists in their May 23 win over the Mercury, 77-70.
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Taurasi retired after 20 years with the Mercury on Feb. 25. Griner signed a one-year deal as free agent with the Atlanta Dream this offseason, after 11 years with Phoenix.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Storm’s Diggins talks past Taurasi beef, pregnancy, Mercury fallout
