Considered one of the most extraordinary women’s basketball players in the league, Diana Taurasi deserves more credit for what she does. Diana Taurasi is a professional basketball player on the American squad, the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix first drafted her in 2004, and she has played for them ever since, bringing home many astonishing awards. Including three WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) championships, five Olympic gold medals, a Most Valuable Player award, and was selected for ten All-Star teams. In 2021, fans voted her to be the league’s most outstanding player of all time.
Jumping back, Diana was born on June 11, 1982, in Glendale, California. She was raised by her dad, Mario Taurasi, and her mom, Liliana Taurasi in a sports-focused house. Mario was a professional soccer player in Italy. Liliana and Mario Taurasi relocated from Argentina to the United States before Diana was born. Taurasi graduated from high school in 2000 and went to the University of Connecticut, becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. She later married her former teammate, Penny Taylor after eight years of dating, and on October 9, 2021, Diana gave birth to their first child, Isla Taurasi-Taylor.
Taurasi made history on August 3, 2023, by becoming the first woman in the WNBA to score 10,000 points; the score was finally hit during a Phoenix Mercury vs. Atlanta Dream matchup, in which she scored 42 points for Phoenix. Before this, Kobe Bryant himself named Diana Taurasi the “White Mamba” because she could score in any situation, no matter how challenging.
Diana Taurasi re-signed to Phoenix Mercury in 2023, proving that age does not matter if you have the skill and talent needed to succeed. She is currently the oldest player in the WNBA at 41, and what makes her so good is that she works on hard shots, most of which other people couldn’t make. She makes one-leg shots, goes off balance, and jumps back, but without fail, her shots make it in. Many people do not recognize female basketball players who play in the WBNA, which is heartbreaking. Diana Taurasi has never left the Phoenix Mercury team since her drafting in 2004. She is arguably the best player to ever play in the WNBA, and she deserves that recognition as much as any male player would.
