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Breanna Stewart is at the peak of her WNBA career, and one player has motivated her to reach even higher along the way: Diana Taurasi. 

"When I was at UConn, it was like, 'How many national championships did she win? And how can I beat her?'" Stewart told CBS Sports. "That was that, and now it's kind of the same. She is the one who is setting the bar for everything in the WNBA. As someone in my prime, I'm like, 'Alright, that's the goal, that's where I need to get to,' and just making sure year after year I continue to get better."

Stewart eventually won four NCAA championships, one more than Taurasi. However, Stewart and many of her WNBA contemporaries are still chasing Taurasi.

At age 42, Taurasi is close to the end of her career, but no one knows exactly how close. Taurasi has previously said that when she chooses to retire, she will simply stop playing and not give anyone a warning. The Phoenix Mercury -- who earlier this year named two practice courts after the franchise icon -- have been teasing her potential retirement through social media posts with the theme "if this is it."

An 11-time All-Star, Taurasi has been with the Mercury since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft and promptly winning Rookie of the Year. She then won league MVP honors in 2009 and has been a part of each of the Mercury's three WNBA titles (2007, 2009, 2014). 

Taurasi is the WNBA's all-time leading scorer with over 10,600 points to her name. The closest player is Tina Charles, who is behind by well over 3,000 points. Taurasi recently registered her 140th regular-season game with 25+ points, the most in WNBA history and nearly double the 79 of second-place Charles. 

Taurasi -- who the late Kobe Bryant nicknamed the "White Mamba" -- has also earned six Olympic gold medals with Team USA. 

"Honestly, I don't know what D is gonna do because as a basketball player she wants to compete and she can still do it year after year," Stewart said. "If this is the end, my time playing with Diana and against her has been nothing short of incredible. And she is someone who I definitely look up to and was happy to share the court with her through three Olympics, which is insane."

Earlier this summer, Stewart passed Taurasi as the fastest WNBA player to reach 5,000 career points, while also guiding the New York Liberty to their best start in team history. Stewart already won two WNBA titles during her time with the Seattle Storm, but she is looking to get her third in New York. As the playoffs approach, the Liberty need just one more win or a Minnesota Lynx loss to lock in the No. 1 seed.