PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury retired Diana Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey and inducted the franchise icon into the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony Sunday before a sellout crowd of 16,513.
The ceremony honored a player widely regarded as the greatest in WNBA history, who spent her entire 20-year career with the Mercury from 2004 to 2024.
“This place has made me who I am. You guys let me grow, you let me fall, you let me get back up and gave me the space to become who I am today. Through the championships, all the good times and all the bad times, the loyalty you have given me is something I will take with me forever.”
— Diana Taurasi
Taurasi, 44, is the WNBA’s career scoring leader by more than 2,000 points. She was an 11-time All-Star, six-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time scoring champion, three-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, the 2009 regular-season MVP and the 2004 Rookie of the Year.
She called Sunday’s honor one of her biggest accomplishments.
“Today’s a big one,” Taurasi said before the game. “Today feels different. When your number goes up there, you can’t use it anymore, it’s done. So if there was any little competitiveness still in me, I think today it goes up in the rafters with the number and it feels really good.”
Hundreds of fans gathered in downtown Phoenix more than two hours before the game against the Portland Fire, many wearing Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey despite temperatures topping 105 degrees. Some took pictures in front of a mural featuring Taurasi on the side of the arena.
The evening featured tributes from Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker, former teammate Brittney Griner and recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Larry Fitzgerald. Three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes and 23-time gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps were also in attendance.
Taurasi was surrounded by friends and family, including her wife Penny Taylor and their two children. She credited her long relationship with the Mercury’s loyal fan base, known as the “X-Factor.”
“When I walk into [the arena], I don’t see strangers, I don’t see employees,” Taurasi said. “I see friends, I see people I go to dinner with, I see people I text regularly with. This isn’t just something where I showed up and said, ‘Well, let’s see what we can do here and then leave.’ I treated this like my extended family. I think that’s why walking in today”
— I’m really emotional.”
Beyond her statistical dominance, Taurasi was remembered for a fierce personality that helped transform the Mercury into one of the WNBA’s flagship franchises. The sellout crowd underscored how much the league has grown since Taurasi debuted in 2004.
The Mercury hosted the Portland Fire following the ceremony.
Source: NBA.com