Gentleman’s Quarterly Magazine compiled its list of the 50 Greatest Athletes Alive recently – and while some may take offense to Larry Bird or Joe Montana being snubbed, there should not be much of an issue with Diana Taurasi being included.
Her description at the GQ website mentioned how she has won three WNBA championships, three national titles at UConn, and four Olympic gold medals. These are all worthwhile accomplishments for someone who will eventually be enshrined into the Hall of Fames in Knoxville and Springfield, Massachusetts.
The GQ description of Taurasi also bestows on her another lofty description – greatest women’s basketball player of all time. As we women’s basketball fans know, she has a very strong case. But as the issue points out, Taurasi does not walk on a high horse because of her illustrious career.
I still wake up every morning and think I suck.
Her play and her accomplishments, of course, counter this notion, but it is part of what drives Taurasi’s competitive fire – something she has maintained throughout the entirety of her career.
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Taurasi was not the only women’s basketball player to make the list as GQ also gave a shout-out to Cheryl Miller, who herself is a Hall of Famer and two-time national champion while at USC.
Miller also led the 1984 USA Basketball Women’s National Team to a gold medal at that year’s Olympics which, fittingly for Miller, took place in Los Angeles. She also was the former head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury when the WNBA was first established in 1997.
She currently is the head coach for the women’s basketball program at Cal State LA.
By: Akiem Bailum (@AkiemBailum on Twitter, Instagram)
