The farewell tour has begun for Diana Taurasi.
Following her retirement announcement on Tuesday, Taurasi appeared on the morning talk show “The View” on Wednesday to discuss her retirement following 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury.
The superstar told Time on Tuesday that she “just didn’t have it in me” anymore.
“That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away. …
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full. That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
Here is what she discussed on the show.
More: Diana Taurasi, 3-time champion with Phoenix Mercury, retires from WNBA after 20 seasons
A butchered introduction
Known for her quick wit, Taurasi didn’t let host Whoopi Goldberg get away with mispronouncing her last name as “ta-REESHI” instead of “ta-RAH-see” while introducing her.
When Taurasi took the stage, she was met with laughs when she said, “Good to see you, Whippi — I mean Whoopi.”
Why she chose to retire
“It didn’t just happen overnight. The season started piling on, you know, 20 seasons and 12 seasons overseas, I think just being 42 and really doing everything that I could’ve ever dreamt of doing on the basketball court, I felt full. I was happy. I was ready to move on. I don’t know what that looks like, but I was ready.”
What she wants her legacy to be
“What else was there to do, really? I think the one thing that I always prided myself on was the work. I loved showing up to work every single day. I got that from my parents. They came to this country in ’78, and they always went to work every single morning. My dad would get in that car at 4 a.m. and drive an hour and a half and that’s just what he did. He got up and went to work and tried to make the best of it.
“That’s what I tried to do for my teammates. Show up for them every single day. That loyalty, to me, was always huge. Playing on one WNBA team, playing at UConn for four years, putting on that USA jersey for 20 years and six Olympics. You can’t write that. That’s a fairytale.”
The salary gap and playing overseas
Taurasi spent 12 years overseas, playing in Russia and Turkey, to supplement her WNBA salary. She sat out the 2015 WNBA season to rest after being paid more than her WNBA salary by her Russian club team. She last played in Russia in 2017.
“I spent 10 long, cold years in Russia. I always said that I had to get paid like a capitalist in a Communist country. Which, boy, isn’t that funny? Not that funny. But that disparity in wage is something we always talked about. It’s times like this where it’s this beautiful movement, but it has to translate into our lives being better as professional athletes.
“That comes with our income. Obviously, the off-the-court stuff is booming right now. But you would like to get paid for what you are the best in the world at. That’s what the WNBA is.”
The next generation of superstars
Taurasi spoke about the differences between when she came into the WNBA versus today with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese building a large following.
“It’s a challenge for women, for us to support each other, as we know. You’re going to long lengths to make sure all women’s sports are on TV. That’s the thing that’s always been the most important is visibility. When you learn about these athletes at an early age, like we are now with the Caitlin Clarks and Angel Reeses and Paiges (Bueckers), you get to follow their stories.
“They did in the ’90s and 2000s, but not at the length with social media, and that light is really what’s going to make this go forward. This next generation is bullish. They don’t just shut up and dribble like we did. They’re loud.”
Her advice for the next generation
“It’s hard to give them advice because when I started playing, it was a completely different landscape of what our generation had to fight through and the things we went through. But at the same time, you have to keep the main thing the main thing.
“We have to make sure this is the best product on the court. There’s a lot of distractions now with sponsorships and endorsements and TV appearances, which is amazing. But you have to make sure the product is elite.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury great Diana Taurasi talks retirement, Caitlin Clark on ‘The View’
