Editor’s note: This story was originally posted in February 2025 when Diana Taurasi, the only player in WNBA history to score over 10,000 points, retired. On Sunday, the Phoenix Mercury will retire Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey and induct her into the team’s ring of honor.
How do you say goodbye to the GOAT?
Diana Taurasi retired from pro basketball on Feb. 25, 2025 after 20 seasons in the WNBA, three league championships and more than 10,000 points.
What’s left to say about the 2009 WNBA MVP, six-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time league scoring champion and three-time NCAA champion? Plenty. ESPN canvassed Taurasi’s friends, teammates, family members and former coaches throughout the past year for untold tales -- the ones they could share, at least.
“There’s a lot of crazy stories. They are either vault-ish or heartwarming, there’s not much in between,” said Morgan Valley, Taurasi’s former UConn Huskies teammate and roommate. “She’s one of a kind.”
Unsurprisingly, many of the behind-the-scenes stories focused on Taurasi’s ultracompetitive personality and sarcastic wit. But the anecdotes shed light on all sides of Taurasi, from the fierce leader to the supportive teammate, and from the nurturing mother to the generous mentor.
To quote UConn coach Geno Auriemma, “we got Diana” -- and you don’t forget a legend like that. Here’s a look at the Phoenix Mercury star from those who know her best. -- Reporting from Michael Voepel, Alexa Philippou and Josh Weinfuss
Editor’s note: Anecdotes have been edited for brevity and clarity.
First impressions
Sue Bird, close friend, longtime USA Basketball teammate: The minute you meet Diana, there is an impact. You feel the charisma. The thing that people get a little twisted is that she doesn’t have warmth, because maybe they watch her play and they see a competitor, they see somebody spit on the floor, or they see somebody punch something. [But] she’s really so very warm and so very generous.
The first time I met her was on her UConn recruiting trip. Obviously, this was a big recruit, so the coaches were all nervous. She was at Coach Auriemma’s house, and a couple of us went to pick her up and take her back to campus for her to start her visit.
I have a ’93 Toyota Camry. She gets in and she’s like, “Oh, yo, I got a CD. Let me put this on.”
We’re being like, “Hey, whatever you want to do,” because this is a recruit. Right away, she’s just super comfortable. It’s a lot of West Coast rap, which is not bad -- that’s like a representation of who she is. It was a good little mix and we were all vibing to it. By the end of the car ride, she’s like, “You like it? Keep the CD.”
She has a way of making people feel connected to her, but also like the best version of themselves. ... She just makes you feel like a thousand bucks.
Auriemma, Taurasi’s coach at UConn and with USA Basketball: [I first met] Diana in Indianapolis at the Nike All-American Camp. They would take the top 80 [high school] players in the country, [rising] juniors and seniors, and make eight teams. It was the greatest thing ever invented, because you would watch the absolute best players in America playing against each other.
So we’re watching, and obviously I know who she is and all that. ... So their game is over, and I’m sitting there in the bleachers, and she comes walking over with another girl. And I’m thinking, this is not going to look good, and she didn’t give a s---. There’s 400 coaches there, and the best player in the country just walked over to Coach Auriemma, and she starts talking to me, which is totally illegal [an NCAA recruiting violation], right? You’re not supposed to have any contact with the players.
But what she said was funny. She goes, “Hey, can I have your autograph?” And I said, “Oh, really?” She goes, “Yeah. Don’t get all excited. It’s not for me. I don’t give a s---. It’s for a friend of mine.”
Jessika Taurasi-Skillern, Diana’s sister: I think people see her as a villain. If people have never met her and all they see is Dee on the TV -- yelling and complaining to the refs and stuff -- that’s just so not how she is. I’ve never heard her complain about anything in my life other than on the basketball court.
Obviously, the competitiveness is on and off the court, but she’s just got the biggest heart and she’s just such a funny person. I don’t think people know she is not an a--hole.
