Diana Taurasi, All-Time Top Scorer in WNBA, Announces Her Retirement From Game

After playing in the WNBA for more than 20 years, women’s basketball legend Diana Taurasi announced her retirement.

Photo: Diana Taurasi in her final home game with the Mercury (screenshot youtube.com/@Arizona_Sports)

Diana Taurasi, who’s regarded as one of the best female basketball players of all time, made the decision to hang up her boots.

The 42-year-old American athlete played her whole career for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, helping the team win all three of their titles in the women’s professional basketball league in the US, considered the strongest and most popular in the world, in 2007, 2009, and 2014. With 10,646 points, Taurasi is the league’s all-time top scorer, about 3,000 more than Tina Charles, who comes in second.

Taurasi has won more gold medals than any other basketball player in Olympic history, having won six of the six golds with the US women’s national basketball teams between 2004 and 2024 in addition to her success with the Mercury. She won six EuroLeague championships while playing for WBC Dynamo Moscow, WBC Spartak Moscow, Fenerbahçe S.K., Galatasaray S.K., and BC UMMC Ekaterinburg in Europe.

Taurasi’s Rise to Stars

The California native was chosen by Phoenix with the first choice of the 2004 WNBA draft after guiding UConn to three straight NCAA titles. After winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award in her maiden season, she was selected to the All-Star team for the first time out of 11 choices the following year.

She was elected WNBA regular season MVP and Finals MVP in 2009, which was perhaps her best season. She led the league in points, and the Mercury won the championship, making her just the second player after Cynthia Cooper-Dyke to win all four awards in the same season.

Taurasi’s Retirement Comes After Most Acclaimed Season in WNBA History

Taurasi’s accomplishments have been crucial to the development of the women’s game, and the 42-year-old often commented on the advancements in women’s basketball, especially after the most acclaimed season in WNBA history—the last one. Namely, in 2024, the WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 24 years, which concluded with its largest attendance in 22 years. In addition, it achieved records for digital consumption and product sales. The New York Liberty put icing on the cake of such an amazing WNBA campaign with their first-ever title, by which they justified the role as the biggest outright pre-season favorites imposed on them by the best basketball bookies.

After giving an impassioned speech to Phoenix supporters from the floor after her last 2024 regular-season game in September, Taurasi had already been considering retiring for a while.

She often begins her workouts four months before the team’s training camp starts, but last month, she decided it was time to give up her favorite sport.