Diana Tauurasi de Mercury retires after 20 seasons, leaving behind a legendary WNBA race

Diana Tauurasi retires after 20 seasons, finishing one of the best races in the history of female basketball.

The scoring leader of his WNBA career and three times league champion, Tauurasi announced his retirement on Tuesday in an interview with Time magazine. The Phoenix Mercury, the only WNBA team for which he played, also confirmed his decision.

“Mentally and physically, I am full,” Taura told Time. “That is probably the best way to describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”

With his tense hair bun and his supreme confidence, Tauurasi inspired a generation of players while accumulating records and championships.

Taurasi took UCONN to three consecutive national titles since 2001-04 and continued winning after the Mercury selected it with the general selection number 1 of the 2004 WNBA Draft.

“It is difficult to put in words, it really is, what this means. When someone has defined the game, when someone has had so much impact on so many people. “It is a life that is a novel, it is a film, it is a miniseries, it is a saga. It is the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had so much to do with changing female basketball as anyone who has played the game.”

The 42 -year -old woman won her sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games and ends her WNBA career with 10,646 points, almost 3,000 more than second place Tina Charles.

In addition to his three WNBA championships with Mercury, Taurasi won six Euroleague championships while playing most of his career throughout the year. She was the MVP of the 2009 WNBA and is one of the four players to obtain the MVP honors of the WNBA finals more than once (2009, 2014).

“Diana is the best to have played the game. I have been a fan of her all my life, she is the best leader and teammate,” said Mercury’s owner, Mat Ishbia, in a statement. “She has had an incredible impact on our franchise, our community and the basketball game. Her name is synonymous with Phoenix Mercury and will always be part of our family.”

Taurasi converted the first WNBA team into the first team 10 times and was in the first or second team a record 14 times. He is also an athlete of the year of the WNBA WNBA, four times from the WNBA of the year.

“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is that they transcend the sport and become synonymous with sport,” said Auriemma. “During the time that people speak about university basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball, Diana is the best winner in the history of basketball. I have had the pleasure of being close to it for many of those moments, and She is the best teammate I have trained. “

After 20 years of playing at the WNBA, Diana Taurasi officially retires
Thanks Diana for changing the game forever, all praise could never be equivalent to the type of person and edge that you stressed when you left the court.
One of one pic.twitter.com/dete4ndgh

–@Wnba

Glendale’s native, California, has numerous WNBA records, including playoff score, field goals, triple and 30 -point games. She also has 16 Mercury records.

For his career, Taurasi averaged 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds. He averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists while leaving the playoffs to mercury during his 20th season.

“In her early years, she was a last problem. I mean, she just scored on all three levels,” said Becky Hammon, coach of Las Vegas Aces. “Simply unpleasant. I just had that unpleasant, what I love. As you love as a competitor. So our league will surprise her.”