Diana Taurasi, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, announced her retirement yesterday. She, her wife, and their two kids were “Forever the first family of the Phoenix Mercury,” said the team where she played her entire 20-season WNBA career.
“Mentally and physically, I’m just full…. I’m full and I’m happy,” said Taurasi in an exclusive Time interview about her decision.
Taurasi, 42, played all 20 of her WNBA seasons for the Mercury, where she led the team to three WNBA championships. Prior to that, she played four years at the University of Connecticut, helping the team to three national titles, and being named the 2003 and 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year, among other accolades.
Her post-college achievements include six Olympic gold medals, 11 WNBA All-Star appearances, and the WNBA MVP award, among many others. Her records of 10,646 regular-season points and 1,447 three-pointers are far ahead of any other contenders, although she told Time that “Someone’s going to come around that has the same hunger” to break them. “That’s going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon,” she added.
Taurasi and her spouse, former Mercury player Penny Taylor, married in 2017 and have two children, Leo, seven, and Isla, three. Isla was born between WNBA playoff games in October 2024, when Taurasi flew home in a rush from Las Vegas to Phoenix after uttering the hilarious immortal words on camera, “Hold it in, babe. I’m coming.”
In one Instagram post shortly after the retirement announcement, the Mercury said, “For years, you let us borrow your mom – late nights, road trips, long practices. Thanks for letting us spend so much time with your mom over the years Leo and Isla.”
When Time asked Taurasi “what’s next?” she replied that she doesn’t have an answer yet, but, “I really enjoy taking my kids to school, being home when they’re home, not leaving for a week at a time.”
Fellow WNBA great Britney Griner, also a queer mom, told ESPN that the two of them talk about being parents. She said that Taurasi’s best parenting advice has been: “None of this matters when you get home. Game, loss, win, hard practice, irritated at somebody. None of that matters, because when [your family] gets home, they don’t know nothing about this. They don’t care about this. All they care about is you being right there. Just soak it in because it goes quick.” That’s good advice whether you’re a professional athlete or balancing parenting and some other career.
And WNBA great Sue Bird, Taurasi’s UConn and Team USA teammate, said to ESPN, “She has a way of making people feel connected to her, but also like the best version of themselves.”
Taurasi has helped make women’s basketball the best version of itself for more than two decades. Best wishes to her and her family in this next phase of their lives.
Looking for a kids’ book about Taurasi that also acknowledges her queer identity? My favorite is the chapter book from Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted series, She Persisted: Diana Taurasi, by Monica Brown, illustrated by Gillian Flint (Philomel).
