Phoenix Mercury famous person Diana Taurasi, one of many biggest ladies’s basketball gamers of all time, introduced her retirement in Time on Tuesday, sparking an outpouring of tributes. Recognized for her relentless competitiveness each on and off the courtroom, Taurasi’s legendary trash speak was highlighted within the Time piece, recalling a second in the course of the 2016 Rio Olympics when she interrupted Draymond Inexperienced—who was enjoying for the lads’s workforce—and ruthlessly mocked his scoring struggles.
In 2016, Staff USA’s males’s and ladies’s basketball groups shared a cruise ship, the place NBA and WNBA stars usually gathered to talk, joke round, and change some aggressive banter. One night, because the trash speak escalated, Draymond Inexperienced—higher recognized for his protection, passing, and talent to stir controversy than for his scoring—was holding courtroom.
That’s when Diana Taurasi delivered a ruthless jab stating, “Hey, Draymond, how does it really feel to be the one individual on this room who’s by no means been double-teamed?”
Inexperienced is rarely shy about operating his mouth, so it’s solely becoming he will get a style of his personal medication now and again. The second he steps into broadcasting after retirement, you may count on him to go on about how immediately’s gamers don’t measure as much as the toughness of his era. When that day comes, simply keep in mind—Taurasi shut him down higher than most ever might.
If Taurasi’s achievements and information weren’t already sufficient to safe her place amongst basketball’s all-time greats, tales like these make it plain.
Diana Taurasi’s storied profession
Associated Phoenix Mercury InformationArticle continues beneath
Taurasi captured three nationwide championships with the UConn Huskies, earned two Naismith Faculty Participant of the Yr honors, led the WNBA in scoring 5 instances, secured 10 All-WNBA First Staff picks, and gained three WNBA titles. But, regardless of her numerous accolades, her most exceptional accomplishments could have come on the Olympic stage.
The Mercury made Taurasi the primary total decide within the 2004 WNBA Draft, and she or he wasted no time residing as much as the immense expectations. That very same yr, she kicked off her legendary Olympic journey, coming off the bench to present Staff USA a spark on their approach to gold in Athens.
The Phoenix Mercury star additionally earned six gold medals with Staff USA ladies’s basketball, dominating over a 20-year span from 2004 to 2024. The U.S. ladies’s workforce has remained unbeaten on the Olympics since 1992, and Taurasi performed a pivotal position in sustaining that streak. Her legacy wasn’t simply outlined by Olympic success—she was a relentless competitor and champion each step of the best way.
Girls’s basketball has by no means been extra fashionable, and trailblazers like Taurasi set the stage for rising stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The game retains evolving, however there’ll by no means be one other fairly like DT.