In a Career Full of Them, Taurasi’s Greatest Moment Came in Phoenix
PHOENIX, AZ – JUNE 16: Chicago Sky vs Phoenix Mercury June 16, 2017 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
By Mike Saucier
If you’re Diana Taurasi, winnowing down your proudest career moment is daunting.
After all, the 35-year-old Phoenix Mercury star has won three WNBA championships, four Olympic gold medals, Most Valuable Player awards for the season and for the WNBA finals and three college championships. She also just became the WNBA all-time leading scorer.
But she managed to single out one shining accomplishment above all: Game 5 of the 2009 WNBA finals.
“Playing in this arena and winning a championship here with the team we had – that resonates with me a lot,” Taurasi told Frontdoors after a practice session at Talking Stick Arena.
Though it can’t compete with the feeling of winning her first championship, Taurasi called becoming the all-time leading scorer “really a prime moment in my career.”
The California native chalks it up to the luck of having a stellar surrounding cast.
“It’s a lot of luck,” Taurasi said. “Luck as in being around great coaches and players. You don’t do that on your own. Basketball is one of those things in which you have to help each other to get to a certain point.”
Milestones are one thing, but it’s the team connectedness on the court that provide true zen experiences for Taurasi.
“There are times in a game when one play leads to another play and it seems like all five people are on the same wavelength,” she said. “When you’re playing and you feel that, those are the good moments.”
Since coming to Phoenix in 2004, Taurasi has her share of good moments away from the court. She said what has given her the most happiness here is how the city has embraced her and she in turn has made every effort to reciprocate.
“I keep coming every summer and plugging away and working hard and trying to bring a championship to this city – that’s one thing I’m really proud of,” she said. “These days it’s kind of hard staying in one place for a long time whether it’s sports, business, or a relationship. So that loyalty to me has always been a big thing. I’ve tried to hold that close to my heart.”
Of course, all good things must end. There will be a day Taurasi decides to hang up her high-tops. She is more straightforward than most athletes in discussing the end of her playing career.
“You know, I’m looking forward to retirement,” she said. “It’s going to be a great time. I’ve put so much energy and work and dedication into this game that there’s a lot of things I haven’t been able to do because I’ve been playing basketball year round for 20 years. When that time comes I’m really going to look forward to reconnecting in different ways with people and interests that I have that when you’re playing basketball you don’t even think of and they don’t even pop up.”
Some of those interests, Taurasi said, include architecture, music and plants. She’ll have plenty of time to think about it as she visits some of her favorite Valley coffee haunts such as Urban Bean on 7th St. and Sip on Indian School Rd.
Another Valley athlete whose retirement is on the horizon, Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals, is the one Taurasi most admires in terms of how he conducts himself on and off the field. To be the face of the Valley for so long, she said, “is not easy to do – that’s a lot of energy.”
“A lot of people don’t want to put the energy into both sides of being a professional athlete and Larry has and I’ve really admired him for what he’s done,” she said. “Obviously, too, Steve [Nash], when he was here. We were very close, sharing these hallways [at the arena] and just watching him and how he approached every day and every game in practice and in the weight room when no one was watching. Those two, especially here in the Valley, are just tremendous people.”
