Mercury great Diana Taurasi leads Arizona Sports Hall of Fame class
· Yahoo Sports
Diana Taurasi had never set foot in Arizona when she joined the Phoenix Mercury over two decades ago. Now, she will permanently have a place in the state after she was enshrined in the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.
“It’s just incredible. Being here for 20 years now, it’s home," Taurasi said. "Thinking back on all the things we’ve accomplished when we came in 2004, winning championships, making sure that the Phoenix Mercury were the gold standard in the WNBA."
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"It’s the fans who did it all. We have the most loyal and amazing fans of all time. The X-Factor was always there. No matter what kind of season we were having, they were always there supporting us and building that community. It’s definitely a treat.”
Taurasi spent all 20 of her WNBA seasons with the Mercury after she was drafted No. 1 overall in 2004. Taurasi said she had a feeling once she met with then-owner Jerry Colangelo that she'd be in Phoenix for a long time.
"He kind of set the path to the winning, to the longevity in being here because he's that type of guy," Taurasi said.
She established a winning culture for the Mercury, leading the team to all three of its championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014. The guard earned Finals MVPs in both 2009 and 2014 and was named WNBA MVP in 2009.
Outside of the Mercury, Taurasi represented the U.S. at the highest stage with six Olympic appearances and six gold medals — the most of any U.S. basketball player.
Since retiring in 2025, her life involves a lot of school “drop-offs” with her two kids and quality time with her wife and former teammate Penny Taylor.
But both will get some extra pay as the WNBA's new collective bargaining agreement will provide one-time recognition payments for retired players. Both spent over 12 years in the league and will earn the maximum amount of $100,000 each.
"I feel like there could’ve been a 20 to 25-year-old threshold," Taurasi joked. "It was a nice gesture. Obviously, the CBA is huge. The way we moved the needle forward for women’s sports, not only for our league, for all the leagues coming in the future.
"Like I said, you always want to leave it better than when you got there. That was such a huge moment for us. It’s still only in the beginning, and there’s still a lot of work to be done, and I think we’re well on our way.”
Throughout the NCAA Women's Final Four, Taurasi was active around Phoenix and was heavily supporting her UConn Huskies in the semifinals. The former national champion has been at several Final Fours, as a player, spectator and broadcaster. Although UConn didn't win the title in front of her, she still praised Phoenix's hosting duties.
"It was electric downtown," she said. "The two games were amazing, the fans showed up, the ratings were at an all-time high. I think it has a lot to do with the way Phoenix puts on the show. They did it for WNBA All-Star (in 2024), the Final Four this year. Next year, we have the NBA All-Star. This is a basketball city; this is what we do here.”
Taurasi was joined by Taylor at the ceremony, which honored seven individuals of the 2025 class at Chateau Luxe on April 9. The class included: former Arizona football player and track and field athlete Michael Bates, former Arizona swim coach Frank Busch, former skydiver Craig Girard, former MLB shortstop J.J. Hardy, former Yavapai College soccer coach Michael Pantalione and former Olympic runner George Young (posthumously).
Taurasi won't be finished with reflecting on her career anytime soon, as she'll be inducted into the Mercury's Ring of Honor on August 16. She'll join Cheryl Miller, Jennifer Gillom (22), Bridget Pettis (32), Penny Taylor (13) and Michele Timms (7).
"I don’t deserve it like they do," Taurasi said. "They were really the pinnacle of sport when it came to the Phoenix Mercury. To see the names on the other side, all the Suns players we respect and enjoyed watching for so long, it’s going to be a fun night for my family, the fans, so hopefully it’ll be an amazing night.”
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury icon Diana Taurasi enters Arizona Sports Hall of Fame