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Diana Taurasi is arguably the greatest women’s basketball player of all time. She’s won everything there is to win in the sport at every level and is still going strong at 42 years old.
At this point, her career is clearly winding down. She will be playing in her sixth and final Olympic Games in Paris starting later this month, and I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see her retire following this WNBA season.
But, her legacy is going to endure for a long time after whenever she decides to hang it up. Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishiba is naming the courts in a brand-new $70 million practice facility for the Phoenix Mercury after Diana Taurasi.
It’s only right that the biggest WNBA All-Star Weekend in the history of our league begins by honoring the GOAT, Diana Taurasi. We are excited to name the courts at our brand new @PhoenixMercury practice facility after the best to ever play in the WNBA. Congrats @DianaTaurasi! pic.twitter.com/Mcp31K7m7T
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) July 12, 2024
Here’s more from ESPN.
“This is going to be state of the art, first class, and the why behind it is we want to invest in our team,” Ishbia told ESPN on Friday. “We believe in our sport, we believe in the WNBA and we believe in the Phoenix Mercury. We are putting our money, our effort and our love behind it.”
The Mercury’s 58,000 square-foot. $70 million facility is three blocks from Footprint Center. It will have two courts, offices, meeting rooms, hydrotherapy, a sauna, strength and cardio areas, a lounge, a dining room and a kitchen among many amenities. Each court will be named the Diana Taurasi Court and include a Taurasi-inspired logo.
“It worked out perfectly: getting the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix and being able to honor who I consider is the greatest of all time,” Ishbia said of Taurasi, the WNBA career scoring leader. “And she’s just a great person and great player. Putting her name on the court is something everyone will see in the future to always remember Diana Taurasi played here.”
Diana Taurasi is a three-time WNBA Champion in her 21-year career, and has won an MVP, while also leading the league in scoring five times. Couple that with ten All-WNBA First Team selections, five Olympic gold medals, three college titles at UConn, and that’s not even close to all of her accolades.
This season, she’s averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.