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WNBA legend Diana Taurasi is officially hanging up her jersey.
The 42-year-old has announced her retirement after spending her entire 20-year career with the Phoenix Mercury.
In an exclusive interview with TIME Magazine, she revealed she knew it was time to call it quits when her annual conditioning and training date of Jan.1 rolled around. She realized she was spent and no longer wanted to prepare for the WNBA season that kicked off in four months.
“I just didn’t have it in me,” she told TIME. “That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away.”
She continues, “Mentally and physically, I’m just full. That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full, and I’m happy.”
But Taurasi is leaving the game in a better place than she found it and has some personal hardware to show for it, including three WNBA titles, two WNBA Finals MVPs, an 11-time All-Star, named to the All-WNBA’s First team 10 times and kicked things off with the WNBA Rookie of the Year award back in 2004.
So, for some, she’s considered the league’s GOAT — even averaging nearly 15 points in her final season— but she’d rather not wear that crown, let the stats speak for themselves, and watch new talent chase her accomplishments.
“I have a resume. It’s not up to me to grade it,” the California native said. “My scoring record, or the six gold medals, someone’s going to come around that has the same hunger, the same addiction to basketball, and put those records in a different way, a different name. That’s what sports is all about. That’s going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon.”
Her stories career began before the Mercury chose her with the first pick in the 2004 draft because of her UCONN days when she led the Huskies to the Final Four but was defeated. But she vowed to avenge that defeat and led her team to three consecutive NCAA championships.
See how the basketball community is reacting to one of the WNBA’s pioneers retiring below.
