Diana Taurasi Announces Retirement from WNBA After 20 Seasons

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the end of an era for Diana Taurasi…

The 42-year-old Argentine American professional basketball player, the leading scorer in WNBA history and voted “greatest of all time” by the league’s fans, has announced her retirement after 20 seasons.

“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi told Time magazine. “That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.”

Taurasi steps away as one of the most decorated players in basketball history.

She made an impact from her first moments at UConn in 2000, and she was still in the spotlight through the end of her WNBA career, helping lead the Phoenix Mercury to the playoffs this past season\

In August, Taurasi became the first basketball player to win six Olympic gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert hailed Taurasi as “one of the greatest competitors to ever play the game of basketball on any stage.”

“In a record-setting career that saw her play 20 seasons, score more points and make more three-point shots than any player in WNBA history, she has earned the unquestioned respect of players around the globe, delivered electrifying moments and captivated fans again and again,” Engelbert said in a prepared statement. “On behalf of the WNBA family, I thank Diana for everything that she has brought to the WNBA — her passion, her charisma and, most of all, her relentless dedication to the game.”

Taurasi scored 10,646 points — the only WNBA player to surpass the 10K mark in scoring — in 565 regular-season games, and she scored another 1,476 points in 72 playoff contests. She led Phoenix, which drafted her No. 1 in 2004, to WNBA championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

A five-time WNBA scoring champion and 14-time All-WNBA selection, Taurasi was league MVP in 2009 and Finals MVP in 2009 and 2014. She also leaves as the WNBA’s leader in 3-pointers made with 1,447 in the regular season and 215 in the playoffs.

Josh Bartelstein, the chief executive officer of the Mercury and Phoenix Suns, called Taurasi “the face of the Mercury and women’s basketball for 20 years.”

“She revolutionized the game with her scoring ability, infectious personality and the edge she brought to the court every night,” Bartelstein said. “There will only ever be one Diana Taurasi, and she will continue to inspire us for years to come and remain part of the fabric of this city.”

Despite the personal records and achievements, Taurasi was considered the consummate teammate throughout her career.

“I’ve always tried to be on everyone’s side, and tried to champion everyone on the team,” Taurasi said. “If they’re in your circle, you take care of them.”

Sue Bird, Taurasi’s longtime friend and UConn/USA Basketball teammate, said to ESPN: “She has a way of making people feel connected to her, but also like the best version of themselves.”

New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who guided the Mercury for eight years, said Taurasi had what seemed like a sixth sense in dealing with teammates.

“She knows when she needs to take over; she knows when to get others involved,” Brondello said. “She knows when she just needs to whisper in their ear to get them going. When you see it up close and personal, you realize just the effect she has on her teammates, and they all look up to her.”

Taurasi first rose to national prominence at UConn two decades ago, leading the Huskies to three consecutive national titles from 2002 to 2004, including an undefeated season that many consider the greatest in women’s college hoops history.

In a prepared statement Tuesday, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said that Taurasi “had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.”

“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport,” Auriemma said. “For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball: Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period. I’ve had the pleasure of being around her for a lot of those moments, and she’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever coached. I’m happy for her and her family. At the same time, I’m sad that I’ll never get to see her play again, but I saw more than most.”

UConn went 22-1 in NCAA tournament games in Taurasi’s career, and she finished her collegiate career with 2,156 points, 628 rebounds and 648 assists. After being selected No. 1 by the Mercury, she won the first of her Olympic medals in 2004.

Her first WNBA championship with Phoenix came three years later.

After leading Phoenix to its second title, Taurasi was arrested for driving under the influence in July 2009. Shortly afterward, while she was playing overseas in Turkey, Taurasi received a provisional ban in late 2010 for alleged use of the stimulant modafinil, but the lab conducting the test was discredited, and Taurasi was cleared of all allegations in February 2011.

Taurasi and Bird became the cornerstones of USA Basketball for two decades. Along with her Olympic haul, Taurasi has three golds from the FIBA Women’s World Cup and won six EuroLeague titles.

“There never seems to be a bad day when you’re around Dee,” said Carol Callan, longtime USA Basketball women’s national team director. “She doesn’t seek the limelight, and she’s totally comfortable in her skin not needing it.”

Taurasi was voted by fans as the WNBA’s “GOAT” during the league’s 25th season in 2021.

“To me, she’s the greatest player,” said Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who played and coached against Taurasi. “She just hooped. I think one of the most underrated parts of her game was her passing. Her 3-ball and pull-up jumpers got so much attention, but she literally does everything.

“It’s like when you talk about LeBron James. … Some people would knock on him when he would pass the ball, but it was the right decision. Great players, the GOATs, just make the right play. And they make it over and over and over again, and it leads to winning.”

Taurasi’s accomplishments include:

WNBA
– 3-time champion
– 2004 Rookie of the Year
– 2009 WNBA MVP
– 2-time Finals MVP
– 5-time scoring champion
– 11-time All-Star
– 10-time All-WNBA 1st-team selection

USA National Team
– 6-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024)

College: UConn (2001-04)
– 3-time national champion (2002, 2003, 2004)

Chicago Sky Select Kamilla Cardoso with No. 3 Overall Pick in 2024 WNBA Draft

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

The Sky’s the limit for Kamilla Cardoso, who is officially going pro.

The 22-year-old Brazilian college basketball star, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Women’s Tournament after leading the South Carolina Gamecocks to the national championship, was selected No. 3 overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The draft was held with fans for the first time since the 2014-16 iterations of the event. Tickets for 1,000 spectators sold out within 15 minutes of them going on sale a few months ago.

Cardoso had a busy week, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship to complete an undefeated season.

She took part in the team’s championship parade on Sunday before traveling to New York.

But Cardoso wasn’t the only Latina player to be drafted to the WBNA…

Celeste Taylor, of Colombian and Puerto Rican descent, was selected by the Indiana Fever in as the No. 3 pick in the second round.

Esmery Martinez, who played for Arizona, became the first-ever Dominican player drafted into the WNBA when the New York Liberty drafted her as the No. 5 pick in the second round.

Meanwhile, her teammate at Arizona, Spaniard Helena Pueyo, was chosen by the Connecticut Sun as the No. 10 pick in the second round.

The Indiana Fever picked Puerto Rican basketball standout Leilani Correa, who played for Florida, as the No. 3 pick in the third round.

Kamilla Cardoso Helps Lead South Carolina Gamecocks to NCAA Women’s Tournament Title

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Kamilla Cardoso is officially ending her college basketball career with a bang.

The 22-year-old Brazilian college basketball player helped her South Carolina Gamecocks vanquish the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday 87-75 in the NCAA women’s tournament title game to become the 10th team in Division I history to complete an undefeated season (38-0), joining UConn (six times), Baylor (2011-12), Tennessee (1997-98) and Texas (1985-86) as the only programs to achieve such a feat.

The emotional win came a year after a stunning Final Four defeat that ended what could’ve been a perfect season and national championship run.

“We’re unbeatable,” junior Bree Hall said. “That’s the statement that was made tonight.”

After graduating 2023 No. 1 WNBA draft pick Aliyah Boston and four other starters from last year, South Carolina became the first team since at least 2000 to win a title after returning none of its primary starters from a team that reached the Final Four the previous season.

“They made history,” coach Dawn Staley, overcome with emotion, told ESPN‘s Holly Rowe. “They etched their names in the history books when this is the unlikeliest group to do it.

“When [God] closes a door, he opens up a door that’s giving you unimaginable success.”

With its third national title in seven tournaments and second in three seasons — including a 109-3 record in that span — South Carolina tied Baylor and Stanford for the third-most championships ever and cemented its status as women’s college basketball’s newest dynasty, one that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Staley — a former two-time Player of the Year who played in three Final Fours but missed out on a championship herself — became the fifth head coach to win at least three national titles.

To clinch history, the Gamecocks defeated the team that ended their season last year in Iowa and Caitlin Clark, the presumptive No. 1 pick in next week’s WNBA draft.

Clark ended her collegiate career with the most points in Division I men’s or women’s history at 3,951. Staley thanked Clark during the postgame ceremony for her contributions to the sport, saying, “You are one of the GOATs of our game, and we appreciate you.”

Iowa, which beat South Carolina in the national semifinal last year before losing to the LSU Tigers in the title game, once more fell short of its first national championship.

“The biggest thing is it’s really hard to win these things,” Clark said. “I think I know that better than most people by now. To be so close twice really hurts.”

Cardoso finished with 15 points and a career-high 17 boards, becoming the fifth player with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a championship game in the past 25 seasons. Having already announced she is entering the draft, where she is expected to be an early pick, Cardoso is the only major contributor for South Carolina who won’t return next season.

“Kamilla Cardoso was not going to let us lose a game in the NCAA tournament,” Staley said. “She played through an injury, she played like one of the top picks in the WNBA draft and her teammates did something that no teammates have done for anybody who went to the WNBA in our program. They send her off as a national champion. So this is history for us.”

With Cardoso’s help, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Hawkeyes 51-29 on the afternoon, using those opportunities to score 30 second-chance points.

South Carolina trailed early Sunday, falling behind by as many as 11 in the first quarter as Clark put up the most points by a player in any quarter of a women’s championship game.

But the Gamecocks did what they do best and stormed back to hold the lead for over 21 minutes, including the entire second half. They extended their streak of winning games when having trailed by 10-plus points to 11, the longest active one in Division I, and became the first team to win the national championship game by at least 10 points after trailing by 10 points.

South Carolina went into the break up 49-46 and built its game-high 14-point lead in the fourth behind a barrage of 3-pointers from Hall and freshman Tessa Johnson, a marked difference from the meeting against Iowa last year when the Gamecocks hit just 4 of 20 shots from beyond the arc. They finished 8-for-19 from 3 on Sunday, and when they weren’t getting it done from there, they got it inside, managing 48 points in the paint.

Although the Hawkeyes pulled within five with a little over four minutes to go, Iowa got no closer.

Of South Carolina’s 38 wins this season, 31, including Sunday’s, were by double figures.

Three-point shooting wasn’t a trademark of the Gamecocks, but their depth was, and it was on display once more Sunday as South Carolina’s backups outscored Iowa’s 37-0, the most bench scoring for any team in a championship game since at least 2000.

That effort was led by freshman guard Johnson with a career-high 19 points, the fourth freshman in the past 25 seasons to lead her team in scoring in a national title game. She joined former Gamecock Destanni Henderson (2022) as the only players to set their career highs in a national championship game in the past 25 seasons.

Diana Taurasi Named to U.S. National Team for Upcoming Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Diana Taurasi is getting back in the international game…

The 41-year-old Argentine American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury, a five-time Olympic champion considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history, has been selected as part of the U.S. national team that will play in a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgium this week.

Taurasi is one of seven former Olympians on the roster.

She’s joined by Ariel Atkins, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young.

Additionally, 2022 World Cup champions Kahleah Copper, Sabrina Ionescu and Alyssa Thomas will be part of the team.

Aliyah Boston and Rhyne Howard round out the squad. Both players will be making their debuts with the senior national team.

Former Olympians A’ja Wilson, Brittney Griner and Chelsea Gray are unavailable to play in Belgium this week.

The U.S., which has already qualified for the Olympics thanks to a gold-medal finish at the 2022 World Cup, will open play against host Belgium on Thursday. More than 14,000 tickets have been sold for that game, and coach Cheryl Reeve expects a loud crowd that will be rooting for the home team.

“We’re expecting to go over there and be in a really tough environment,” the U.S. coach said on Sunday at the end of a three-day training camp in New York. “There’ll be 14,000 people rooting against us. It’s obviously a really good team as we open it, open the tournament. I’m hoping to experience that adversity in a way that helps prepare us for the next step.”

Reeve also feels potential adversity will help the team get ready for the Paris Olympics, where the U.S. will be trying for an eighth consecutive gold medal.

“It’ll be illuminating as far as maybe what we need to do as a coaching staff. How we can better utilize players,” she said. “Those challenges are what we are looking forward to.”

The Americans will also face Nigeria and Senegal. The top two teams other than the Americans will qualify for the Paris Games.

There are three other qualifying tournaments in Brazil, China and Hungary being played at the same time to help round out the 12-team Olympics field. France also has already qualified as the host nation.

The Americans will have another training camp at the Final Four in Cleveland in April before getting together right before the Olympics in Phoenix for a few days.

is getting back in the international game…