PHOENIX — Outside the Phoenix Mercury practice facility stood hordes of Phoenix Mercury coaches, staff and Player 15 Group employees awaiting the arrival of Diana Taurasi. Donned in bright orange shirts with a silhouette of Taurasi replacing the ambiguous figure in the WNBA logo, the crowd assembled itself in two lines creating a pathway to the door for Taurasi upon arrival.
From inside, seated on the court facing the makeshift podium, the moment of Taurasi’s arrival was clearly audible. As she made her way inside the facility, cheers and applause erupted. The sight of heads snapping to catch a glimpse of the franchise’s signature player signified her presence walking past the practice courts, accompanied by her wife Penny Taylor and their two children.
After a few minutes, Taurasi emerged from behind a backdrop to even more fanfare. She made her way up the podium steps, hugged Mercury mascot Scorch and sat in the lone chair on stage behind a table covered in a Phoenix Mercury tablecloth.
“I just want to thank all of you for being here today,” Taurasi said in her opening statement. “Obviously, I made the announcement last week, but I don’t think it’s felt real until just now. I haven’t been in this building, I think, since the last shootaround … so it’s been a while to be back in here, and just instantly, all the great memories that I’ve had here for 20 years [coming back] has just been overwhelming.”
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Throughout the press conference, Taurasi playfully fielded questions, telling the crowd about her favorite technical she’s ever gotten — the one where she tripped over her own feet running away from a ref who called a “really bad foul,” leading to her ejection — her depressing four-hour plane ride to New York after her son asked if retirement was sad, and how much wine she expects to be drinking with former UConn teammate Sue Bird over the next couple of weeks.
In between the jokes, Taurasi gave poignant answers about how her time playing for the Mercury shaped her over the last 20 seasons and the impact she’s had on the game of basketball and vice versa.
“I just wanted to win,” Taurasi said. “At the end of the day, I did everything because I wanted to win. I wanted to compete and I wanted to win. I didn’t do it for a little bit of fame, a little bit of money. I didn’t do it for any of that. I did it literally to win and have the respect of the people around me.”
The people around her in her circle remained largely the same throughout her career, but stretching beyond those select few, Taurasi crossed paths with so many more individuals that she made sure to acknowledge in her final goodbye.
She thanked everyone she could think of including friends and family, Mercury front office personnel, team owner Mat Ishbia, team CEO Josh Bartelstein, team President Vince Kozar, former general managers Ann Meyers-Drysdale and Jim Pitman, former teammate and assistant coach Bridget Pettis, and even longtime team photographer Barry Gossage.
Most of all, Taurasi praised the city of Phoenix which welcomed her with open arms back in 2004 and has celebrated her in every season since.
“There’s just a real authenticity about this city and the people who live here, were born here, who work here,” Taurasi said. “There’s just this unconditional love that they have for their city. … There’s just this pride of being from the valley that is close to my heart, because for the last 20 years, I’ve really grown up here, and it’s just been wonderful to be a part of this community in the past, and going into the future, I expect to be even more entrenched in the community.”
While reflecting Taurasi made sly mentions of returning to play. She joked that even walking into the facility Thursday, on the courts named in her honor, made her want to suit up again. Ultimately, though, Taurasi assured the crowd she was done for good.
“I walked in here today and I told [Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren], ‘I want to play again,’” Taurasi said. “But I’m sure I have those feelings a lot, but I am so happy where I’m at right now.
“I don’t like to outwardly show my sadness, but I am sad. It’s the game that I played since I was seven. It’s all the things that in life I always loved to do, and that was to play the game of basketball.”
Post-retirement, Taurasi hasn’t made any concrete plans. The main thing on her mind is enjoying spending time with her wife and two young kids. There’s no more “next thing” pulling her attention away anymore.
While she’s unsure of the specifics, Taurasi does know she’d like to be involved with helping the game of women’s basketball grow and evolve, especially in the place that’s become her second home, Phoenix.
“I think the game is going in such a great direction,” Taurasi said. “There’s such energy and momentum. It’s the one thing that I know probably better than anything, and that’s basketball. So hopefully I can use some of that expertise in a way to help in any way, especially here.”
With her career officially over, the Mercury also announced their plans to induct Taurasi into the Ring of Honor on Thursday. The induction and retirement of Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey will take place during the 2026 WNBA season.
“I had a great conversation with Mat,” Taurasi said. “He has such love and admiration, and it’s really nice to feel that after you put in so much work. And I mean, the names up there are just legends that I looked up to, got to share the court with, win championships with, and it’ll fit nicely with them.”
Taurasi’s legacy within women’s basketball and the Phoenix Mercury organization will be tough for any player, present or future to surpass. The fact that Taurasi managed to play 20 seasons in the league is an accomplishment of its own.
No matter who comes close to or eventually does surpass Taurasi’s milestones, her reputation in the sport as a player will remain unchanged. Her mark on women’s basketball history will never be erased. But what Taurasi is most proud of is the legacy she’s left behind as a person, that will stand forever.
“Championships and points, all those things will be broken, hopefully not soon, but the character and the loyalty you show as a person every single day, that’s what people care about,” Taurasi said. “That’s what people remember. And hopefully, I did that in a way that can transcend the way people look at not only women’s basketball, but women’s sports, and how we give up our lives and sacrifice everything for the thing that we love the most. And for me, that was basketball forever.”
