Phoenix Mercury fans are not ready to see their franchise icon walk away. Late in the team's regular season finale on Thursday night, an 89-70 loss to the Seattle Storm, "one more year" chants echoed throughout the arena as Diana Taurasi walked off the court for what was perhaps the last time in the city she has called home for the last two decades.
Taurasi, 42, has been hinting at retirement for a few years, and the team has been running an "If this is it ..." campaign on social media in recent weeks. At least for now, though, Taurasi says she hasn't made up her mind on her basketball future.
"I think once the season's over, I'll have a better idea of what it looks like for me in the future," Taurasi said.
The Mercury made a number of big moves in the offseason, including trading for Kahleah Copper and signing Natasha Cloud, but the results have largely been underwhelming. They closed the season by losing seven of their last 10 to fall to the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, and face the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx in the best-of-three first round. Due to the unique 2-1 format, the Lynx will host Games 1 and 2, which means the Mercury are not guaranteed a home playoff game.
If it is the last time, it felt like the first time. I love you guys. pic.twitter.com/ojfrH1QGjt
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 20, 2024
And so, the organization turned the regular season finale into a celebration of Taurasi.
There were special t-shirts printed up for fans, a tribute video after the game and Taurasi even took the mic to speak to the crowd. Her college coach Geno Auriemma was in attendance, along with close friend and long-time rival Sue Bird and numerous family members.
"I just kind of took it all in," Taurasi said. "I was trying to focus on the game a little bit, too, but it's just a lot of memories that go through your mind -- the good ones, the bad ones -- and, more than anything, just really grateful to have really good people around me my whole career and going forward.
"That is the one thing that I think back on. It's been the same faces for 20 years and that feels just as good as the jersey for 20 years."
The No. 1 overall pick in 2004, Taurasi has done it all in her legendary career. She's led the Mercury to three titles, won Rookie of the Year, an MVP and two Finals MVPs, made 11 All-Star and 14 All-WNBA appearances and is the league's all-time leading scorer with 10,637 points.
Even well into her 40s, she showed she can still compete at this level by averaging 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. She is the ultimate competitor, but whether she'll want to put her body through the rigors of another season is the big question.
"I was talking to [Brittney Griner] and I'm like, 'There's still days where I'm like, I could still do this," Taurasi said. "'I still want to play basketball,' and then there's the flip side where there are days where I'm crawling out of bed and that's, I guess, a struggle you have when you get to this point in your career. You have to do so much to be able to get back on the court and it's bittersweet in a lot of ways."
The Mercury will begin the playoffs with Game 1 against the Lynx on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.
