Diana Taurasi Displayed Utmost Respect for the Game – Right to the Very End

Before JuJu Watkins, there was Diana Taurasi.

Before Angel Reese, there was Diana Taurasi.

Before Caitlin Clark, there was Diana Taurasi.

Before A’ja Wilson, there was Diana Taurasi.

Before Breanna Stewart, there was Diana Taurasi.

Even before Candace Parker, there was Diana Taurasi.

The way in which we marvel at the game’s current greats dwarfs the way we do the greats of the past. But there is no denying that if Diana Taurasi was rising through the ranks of women’s basketball today, one would see her face and likeness all over billboards, all over commercials and all over media.

We all had an inkling that Taurasi’s retirement was coming – we were simply waiting for her to make it official. The signs were there – the fact that 2024 would be her final Olympics. The fact that the All-Star Game last season was held in Phoenix as, in part, a celebration of her Hall of Fame (Women’s and Naismith) career. The fact that Brittney Griner, whom Taurasi has played much of her career with, was taking her talents east to the Atlanta Dream.

Even the sign that when the Phoenix Mercury updated its roster page on its website to reflect acquisitions of Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas during the free agent period, Taurasi was nowhere to be found on said roster page.

Then came a hint that she would do a special guest appearance on ABC’s The View.

Then it finally came – the retirement announcement which was done in an interview with Time Magazine.

In the Time piece, Taurasi simply stated that she felt that she did not have it in her to go a full WNBA season anymore.

I just didn’t have it in me.

–Diana Taurasi (Time Magazine)

That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away.

–Diana Taurasi (Time Magazine)

Also in the Time piece, Taurasi described herself as “full” and “happy.”

While many fans are feeling a sense of sadness that they have indeed seen Taurasi in a basketball uniform for the last time, this too is showing a level of respect for the game that other veteran athletes fail to display.

Taurasi knew that when it was time to call it a career, it was time to call it a career. If she did not have it in her to play a full WNBA season – especially with said WNBA season expanding to 44 games – she knew that the time was now to call it a time in the W.

The perfect example of a high-profile athlete who clearly has not benefitted at all from holding on too long is Tiger Woods. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Woods not only carried golf, but brought a legion of Black fans into a sport that has been almost entirely a white sport. Woods also won The Masters at Augusta National – a course that has its own sordid history with racism.

But we can see that in Woods’ pursuit of one more major that his body is failing him and he is failing to put forth the performances he could muster with ease in his heyday.

Taurasi did not want to be Woods. She did not want the many fans who have fallen in love with her over the years to see a diminished version of her the way we are cringing at seeing a diminished version of Woods. That is how one shows respect for the game.

No. 3 no longer has anything to prove – her laundry list of accomplishments are a testament to that. How she gave the game her all is a testament to that. Even her noted run-ins with referees and the infamous door incident from the 2021 Finals with the Chicago Sky is a testament to how passionate Taurasi is about the game and that she wanted to win every time her kicks make contact with the hardwood.

One cannot think about Taurasi without asking oneself how much money she would have made if she came up in the current era of the WNBA. Yes, Taurasi has already made plenty of money for herself and she has talked about executing another crafty crossover – one into the realm of ownership. But given how collegiate athletes are making so much money off NIL deals and how more endorsement money is flowing into the WNBA, one cannot help but think what Taurasi’s pockets would look like if she were ascending through women’s hoops today.

It will be tough to imagine a WNBA without Taurasi. In many ways, Taurasi is synonymous with the W. In fact, there have even been individuals that have speculated that a silhouette of Taurasi is the WNBA’s logo similar to how the late, great Jerry West is the NBA’s logo.

But something tells us Taurasi is only getting started – and she will continue to show respect for the game as one of its ambassadors. When one of the GOATs like a Taurasi puts away her jersey for good, there is always speculation as to what the “second act” will resemble. While Taurasi has talked about ownership, it is likely her second act will include her being an ambassador for the game in other ways.

It will also likely include an expansion of her philanthropic and her social justice efforts – a hallmark of her playing days in the W.

The Mercury said it best on their social media platforms – Taurasi was not just a great player, she practically built the Phoenix franchise into what it is today. Many of today’s players that got to play on the same court with Taurasi were inspired to pick up a basketball because of Taurasi’s heroics.

And she did not need the glitz and glamour of a retirement tour because she knew she would have been cheating the game to claim a roster spot solely because of seniority if she felt she could not deliver at a WNBA level anymore.

Taurasi showed respect from the game through the entirety of her career. Whether it was her days as a young star at Chino Hills in California to playing under Geno Auriemma at UConn to the entirety of her career with the Mercury as well as with USA Basketball, Taurasi showed respect to the game by giving it her everything during every game.

If there was any error as it related to Taurasi, it was eloquently pointed out by Greydy Diaz not too long ago on her social media. Taurasi is Latina, speaks fluent Spanish and played the entirety of her professional career in Arizona – a state with a large Hispanic populace. The WNBA missed a golden opportunity to market itself more robustly to a Latino audience – hopefully the W does not repeat that same mistake with future Hispanic greats given Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States.

As we witness Taurasi head off into the sunset, we must also thank her not only for showing respect to the game – but also for her laundry list of accomplishments.