WNBA legend Diana Taurasi, 42, announces retirement originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
A basketball great is hanging up the sneakers.
Diana Taurasi, WNBA and Team USA legend, announced her retirement from the sport Tuesday in an interview with TIME.
After 20 years of playing in the WNBA, Diana Taurasi is officially retiring 🧡
Thank you Diana for changing the game forever, all of the accolades could never amount to the type of person and edge you embodied when you stepped out there on the court
One-of-One 💐 pic.twitter.com/dEtE4NDrGH
— WNBA (@WNBA) February 25, 2025
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi, 42, told TIME. “That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
When did Taurasi realize it was time? She usually began preparing for the new season on January 1, allowing herself four months to work on her game. But when the calendar flipped to 2025, things changed.
“I just didn’t have it in me,” Taurasi said. “That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away.”
Taurasi spent all 20 of her WNBA seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, ending with career averages of 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds on a 42.5/36/87 shooting split.
Phoenix drafted her No. 1 overall in 2004 coming out of UConn. Ending her resume with three WNBA titles, two WNBA Finals MVPs, one WNBA MVP, 11 All-Star nods, Rookie of the Year, six Olympic gold medals and a plethora of additional overseas and college triumphs establishes her as an eventual Hall of Fame lock.
Aside from hardware, her statistical rankings are just as elite. She’s the league’s all-time leading scorer (10,646), and leading 3-point shooter (1,447 made), has the second-most games played (565) with the fourth-most assists (2,394).
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert lauded Taurasi’s status as one of the best ever in a prepared statement.
“In a record-setting career that saw her play 20 seasons, score more points and make more three-point shots than any player in WNBA history, she has earned the unquestioned respect of players around the globe, delivered electrifying moments and captivated fans again and again,” Engelbert said. “On behalf of the WNBA family, I thank Diana for everything that she has brought to the WNBA — her passion, her charisma and, most of all, her relentless dedication to the game.”
While at UConn, Taurasi foreshadowed what was to come by helping the program win three NCAA titles. Individually, she collected two NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards, two Naismith College Player of the Years, two Honda Sports awards, two Nancy Lieberman awards and plenty more.
Geno Auriemma, Taurasi’s head coach at the time who is still at the helm, struggled to summarize her impact with a brief quote, labelling her “the greatest teammate” he coached.
“It’s hard to put into words, it really is, what this means,” Auriemma said. “When someone’s defined the game, when someone’s had such an impact on so many people and so many places. You can’t define it with a quote. It’s a life that is a novel, it’s a movie, it’s a miniseries, it’s a saga. It’s the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.
“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport. For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball: Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period. I’ve had the pleasure of being around her for a lot of those moments, and she’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever coached. I’m happy for her and her family. At the same time, I’m sad that I’ll never get to see her play again, but I saw more than most.”
Her Team USA Olympic journey commenced at the 2004 Games in Athens. It ended 20 years later at the 2024 Paris Games. She participated in every Games within that timeframe (Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo), helping claim gold in all six competitions.
Additionally, she played a role in the U.S. winning gold at three world championships in 2010, 2014 and 2018. The only time she did not win gold was her first appearance in the tournament in 2006, settling for bronze instead.
On the GOAT status of her accomplishments: “I have a resume,” Taurasi told TIME. “It’s not up to me to grade it.”
So, what will Taurasi do next? Will she stay within the basketball atmosphere? Or pull a Tom Brady and return despite announcing her retirement?
Taurasi has two children with her wife Penny Taylor, a former Mercury teammate and FIBA Hall of Famer, so she’ll be spending more time with them while helping them develop basketball skills.
She will not be pulling a Brady, though.
“I’m going to miss the competition,” Taurasi said. “I’m going to miss trying to get better every single offseason. I’m going to miss the bus rides, shootarounds. I’m going to miss the inside jokes. I’m going to miss the locker room, the things that come with being on a basketball team. All those things, I’ll deeply miss.”
