Diana Taurasi, one of the WNBA’s all-time great legends, is retiring from the game of basketball.
Taurasi, 42, announced her retirement decision during an exclusive interview with Time magazine.
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi said. “That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”
Taurasi leaves the game as the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, recording 10,646 points over her 20-year professional career with the Phoenix Mercury. The former No. 1 overall draft pick notched 14 All-WNBA selections, one league MVP trophy and three WNBA championship rings.
In Paris this past August, Taurasi became the first player in history to win six Olympic gold medals.
This retirement news sent shockwaves around the WNBA world, sparking a reaction from Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark.
“Legend,” Clark wrote on her Instagram story in response to the announcement.
“My scoring record, or the six gold medals, someone’s going to come around that has the same hunger, the same addiction to basketball, and put those records in a different way, a different name,” Taurasi said of the next generation in her exclusive interview with Time. “That’s what sports is all about. That’s going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon.”
Clark, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, had one year of overlap with Taurasi at the professional level. Now, she’ll look to carry the torch as the new face of the sport.
“It’s amazing what Caitlin’s been able to do in her short career so far,” Taurasi said after a Fever-Mercury matchup in 2024. “The one thing that I really love about her, she loves the game. You can tell she’s put the work in… It’s been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her, and she keeps showing up and keeps getting better every single game.”
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