UConn's Tamika Williams and Diana Taurasi celebrate after defeating Oklahoma 82-70 to win the NCAA women's national championship in 2002. UConn wrapped up the season undefeated in 39 games to become the fourth team to finish with a perfect record in NCAA women's basketball history
UConn basketball legend Diana Taurasi is making the media rounds this week, talking about why she’s deciding now to call it a career and retire from the WNBA.
“It didn’t just happen overnight ... the seasons started piling on: 20 seasons, 12 seasons overseas,” Taurasi, the WNBA’s leading scorer, told ABC’s “The View.”
“I think just being 42 and really doing everything that I could have ever dreamt of doing on a basketball court, I felt full. I was happy. I was ready to move on. I don’t know what that looks like, but I was ready.”
Taurasi won three WNBA Championships with the Phoenix Mercury and captured six Olympic gold medals.
Bill Frakes / Sports Illustrated
/
Getty
Diana Taurasi cuts the net in San Antonio, TX, after UConn defeated Oklahoma for the first of three NCAA championships with Taurasi on the team.
Taurasi helped lead UConn to three national championships when she played in Connecticut in the early 2000s.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Taurasi transcended basketball and became synonymous with the sport.
“For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball: Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period,” Auriemma said in a statement. “I’ve had the pleasure of being around her for a lot of those moments, and she’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever coached. I’m happy for her and her family. At the same time, I’m sad that I’ll never get to see her play again, but I saw more than most.”
Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos
/
Getty
Uconn guards Sue Bird (10, facing camera) and Diana Taurasi (3) celebrate their victory over the University of Oklahoma following the Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. UCONN defeated Oklahoma 82-70 for the national title.
In a Connecticut Public Television documentary 20 years ago, Taurasi described what would stick with her about her time at UConn.
“The things on the court you always remember ... the game against Tennessee, the Final Fours,” she said. “But I don't think that's the first thing that's going to pop up in my head. It's going to be the bus rides, sitting on the couch, making fun of each other's noses. Just dumb stuff ... That's what I'm gonna remember.”
Here's a look at Taurasi's career through the years, from UConn to the WNBA:
Al Tielemans / Sports Illustrated
/
Getty
Duke's Cameron Crazies stand behind UConn's Diana Taurasi as she looks for an open player during a regular season game in North Carolina in 2003.
Bob Martin / Sports Illustrated
/
Getty
Playing for Spartak Moscow in 2008, Diana Taurasi drives against Nadezhda Orenburg in Moscow, Russia.
Eric Gay
/
AP
USA's Diana Taurasi drives past Australia's Jenna O'Hea and Suzy Batkovic during a semifinal women's basketball game at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, in London.
Ross D. Franklin
/
AP
In September, 2012, injured Phoenix Mercury players Penny Taylor, left, of Australia, and Diana Taurasi stand at the team bench during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun, in Phoenix. Diana Taurasi married her former Phoenix Mercury teammate Taylor in 2017, then played in the team's season opener less than 24 hours later. The 34-year-old Taurasi played for the Mercury since 2004, helping the team win three titles. She also helped the U.S. win four consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Ross D. Franklin
/
AP
Mercury's Diana Taurasi, left, speaks during a news conference at the team's basketball media day as teammate Brittney Griner, right, sneaks in behind the podium Monday, May 9, 2016, in Phoenix.
Mark Ralston / AFP
/
Getty
USA's guard Diana Taurasi poses with fans after the final of the Women's basketball competition in Rio de Janeiro during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Matt York
/
AP
Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi (3) celebrates after making her 10,000th career point, during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Atlanta Dream, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Phoenix. Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, is the only player in league history to reach the 10,000-point milestone.
Meng Yongmin / Xinhua News Agency
/
Getty
Diana Taurasi of Gold medalists team the United States gestures after the victory ceremony for the women's basketball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 11, 2024. (Photo by Meng Yongmin/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Ross D. Franklin
/
AP
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, center, walks with her parents Liliana, left, and Mario, right, after a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Phoenix.
Jessica Hill
/
AP
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, center, stands with associate head coach Chris Dailey, left, and former players Diana Taurasi, second from left, and Maya Moore Irons, right, after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson to surpass Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in college basketball history, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Storrs, Conn.
Connecticut Public's Mark Mirko, Matt Dwyer and Jennifer Ahrens contributed to this report.
SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.
SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.
Fund the Facts
You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.
If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.
Kimberly Sullivan posted $300,000 bail after she was arrested in March. She denies allegations she kept her stepson locked in a small room in their Waterbury home for two decades.
Connecticut’s Vietnam War veterans gathered for a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony in Rocky Hill Thursday, where they reflected on how they were greeted when they returned to the U.S. after the war.
Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.