PHOENIX—For the first time since announcing her retirement, Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi spoke to the media at her retirement press conference.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Taurasi reconsidered her retirement upon entering the Phoenix Mercury practice facility, where the courts are named in her honor.
“After the season ended, I really wanted to take some time away and really think about what I wanted to do,” Taurasi said to the reporters Thursday. “I know the work that goes into preparing for a season. And I knew once that date of Jan. 1 kind of came and went and then it was mid-January and then February came, I knew in my heart that I didn’t have it in me to put that four-month preparation that I usually do going into the season. I just didn’t have that in me anymore and I was fine with that.
“But I walked into here today and I told (Mercury general manager) Nick (U’Ren), I want to play again,” Taurasi said. “But I’m sure I’ll have those feelings a lot, but I am so happy where I’m at right now personally. Now, I get to really reflect on what 20 years felt like (and) the things that I was lucky enough to be a part of.”
mic check mic check … greatness is speaking. pic.twitter.com/WiaCXpyoLP
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) March 13, 2025
The Phoenix Mercury also announced earlier on Thursday that they will induct Taurasi to the Ring of Honor and retire her uniform number in the summer of 2026.
When Taurasi was about to take a flight to New York, her son Leo asked her, “Is retirement sad?”
Taurasi responded, “Just thinking about if it’s sad, and it is sad. I am sad. I don’t show it. I don’t like to outwardly show my sadness, but I am sad. It’s the game that I’ve played since I was seven. It’s all the things that in life I always loved to do. And that was to play the game of basketball.
“I think it’s more emotional for my family and my friends. They were always there. They were always behind me in everything we did, and I think they enjoyed it in that journey just as much as I did.”
Phoenix Mercury to retire Diana Taurasi’s jersey number in Summer 2026
With women’s basketball on the rise, Taurasi is grateful to leave it as the WNBA heads in a positive direction. She is open to the possibility of staying involved with the Mercury if possible.
“Obviously the WNBA, and, more specifically, being here in Phoenix, is something that if it’s possible, I would love to be involved in some way, somehow,” Taurasi said. “I think the game is going in such a great direction.
“There’s such energy and momentum that it’s the one thing that I know probably better than anything, and that’s basketball. So, hopefully I can use some of that expertise in a way to help in any way, especially here.”
After two decades of living in the valley, Taurasi confidently stated that she and her family have fully embraced their community.
“This is such a great place to live,” Taurasi said. “Our kids go to school here. There’s just a real authenticity about this city and the people who live here. There’s this unconditional love they have for their city. It comes out at Mercury games, Suns, Dbacks, Cardinals. There’s this pride being from the Valley that is close to my heart because the last 20 years I’ve grown up here.”
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Reporter Aya Abdeen covers the Phoenix Mercury, Arizona State Athletics and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @ayabdeen, and on Bluesky, @ayabdeen.bsky.social.
