The Basics
Position: Guard
Current Team: Phoenix Mercury | #3
Draft: 2004 | UConn | 1st round (1st overall)
Key Accolades: Rookie of the Year (2004), MVP (2009), Finals MVP (2009, 2014), WNBA Champion (2007, 2009, 2014), Peak Performer - Scoring (2006, 2008-2011), All-Star (many), All-WNBA (frequent)
WNBA Profile | Stats | Twitter | Instagram
The Down Low
I got exhausted just trying to type out of all DT's accolades, so that section is incomplete, but in summary, there are many. Diana has been called the GOAT of women's basketball and has been schooling people for decades. She is the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and literally scored the most points of any player in the league each season for four years straight. That is wild. I will leave it to the experts at Queen Ballers Club to describe what makes her game so good.
Instead, let's focus on what makes DT so fun to watch. It's the combination of her elite playmaking and elite trash-talking—the true definition of a combo guard. When she made her 1000th three-pointer of her career, she followed it up by screaming "MOTHERF*CKER!!!" to everyone on the court. Taurasi has been suspended at least four separate times for getting too many technical fouls. Once, she even got a technical from the sidelines when she was not even suited up to play. Just incredible.
With her lengthy career, DT is a huge part of WNBA history, serving as a face of the league for over 15 years. DT is also an important part of WNBA queer history, playing on the iconically queer 2014 Phoenix Mercury team. When it won its championship in 2014, Phoenix's starters were DT and her wife Penny Taylor, Candice Dupree & DeWanna Bonner (formerly married, have adorable twins together), and Brittney Griner (often credited with helping to changing league culture around LGBTQ issues after she proudly announced her identity during the draft). You know that Penny and Diana have reached icon status because people on YouTube are making compilation videos about their relationship set to sappy love songs.
Finally, DT is known for her decades-long friendship with Sue Bird, with whom she played in college, at the Olympics, and overseas. Her story about playing overseas for a "mysterious Russian billionaire" with Bird was featured on a “30 for 30” podcast episode. The league loves to promote their friendship too, playing their "GOAT Chat" segment so many times it has essentially become the rickrolling of the WNBA. If you want more of Sue and Diana and have a lot of time, may I recommend this four-hour FaceTime extravaganza where all parties get progressively drunker?
Notable Quotables
(Here is the better version, but as of writing, the account is private)
Know Your Meme
An absolute icon, Dee could be seen on live TV telling the the refs “I’ll see you in the lobby later” after she disagreed with a foul call.
Throughout the 2020 season, we could also hear her yelling "bullsh*t," attempting to murder rookies, and threatening other players. Again, an icon.
Highlight Reel
Merch
GOAT Shirt (Mercury Store) | White Mamba (BreakingT) | Team USA Shirsey
More on DT
- How Diana Taurasi Became the GOAT of Women's Basketball (Craig Lazzeretti, Stadium Talk)
- From Somewhere: Diana Taurasi (The Players' Tribune)
- Diana Taurasi WNBA White Mamba (Megan Mitzel, Queen Ballers Club)