DianaTaurasibecomes first WNBA player to reach 10,000 career points

Aug. 4—In true Taurasi fashion, she scored 42 in the Phoenix Mercury's 91-71 win over the Atlanta Dream in Arizona.

Her record as the league's all-time leading scorer now sits at 10,024 career points. No other WNBA player has ever reached 8,000. The next closest to Taurasi's record? Tina Thompson with 7,488.

Taurasi's season-high 42 points on Thursday, marks the fourth 40-point game of her career and her first since July 2010. Per ESPN, the 41-year-old's performance also makes her the oldest player to score 40 points in a WNBA game.

"You couldn't have wrote this any better for our fans and for our city," Taurasi said.

Taurasi made the Mercury's first bucket of the night Thursday with a corner 3-pointer. A three-point play in the final minute of the second quarter gave her 10 first-half points. She drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the third quarter to reach the historic milestone. The 3-pointer that put her at 18 points was, of course, assisted by fellow former Husky Moriah Jefferson.

The game briefly paused as Taurasi was embraced by her teammates and confetti rained down at Footprint Center after she officially reached 10k.

"I've never seen anything like that before. For her to show that she is still, you know, at the top of her game, it was really a sight to see," Mercury interim head coach Nikki Blue said. "... She did it the only way that Diana Taurasi could do it. ... That's just the type of player that she is. You see these types of generational players once in a while. You know, the Michael Jordan's, Kobe Bryant's. And for women's basketball, she is that for us."

Immediately after the Mercury's win, Taurasi embraced her parents in the stands. The celebration continued at halfcourt with fellow Mercury teammate Brittney Griner embracing Taurasi while wearing her own Taurasi-Mercury jersey.

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Phoenix gifted Taurasi with a custom bottle of champagne, a pair of hand-painted Jordans, and a hand-painted basketball. A video was played honoring the former Husky with special messages from Billie Jean King, Steve Nash, Paul Westhead, Sylvia Fowles, Magic Johnson, Dawn Staley, Adam Silver and more.

"You don't go far in life without really good people in your corner," Taurasi said. "And I've just been so lucky and grateful to have my family for one, and friends that are our family now. That have been in my corner since day one. And you know, that was really special tonight."

Taurasi is currently averaging 17.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. She's started all 19 games she's played this season for the Mercury, which is 7-19 and sits second-to-last in the Western Conference.

The former Husky has had to miss seven games this season due to injury, including most recently sitting out three in late July due to both a quad and toe injury.

She returned on July 30 and didn't miss a beat. The 6-foot guard scored 24 points in 26 minutes against Chicago. On Tuesday, at Indiana, her hot streak continued as she dropped a then-season-high 29 points in 30 minutes on 62.5 percent shooting. That performance put her just 18 points away from 10,000.

"I really don't think about the number, I really don't," Taurasi said after Phoenix's game at Indiana. "I've always said I just play basketball because I love to play and literally that's the only reason why I keep showing up to the gym right now. It's because I still love to play."

Taurasi has played all 19 years of her WNBA career in Phoenix after getting drafted with the No. 1 overall pick by the franchise in 2004. She led the franchise to its three WNBA Championship titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014. The former Husky is a two-time Finals MVP, a 10-time All-Star and was named the 2004 Rookie of the Year and the 2009 league MVP.

She passed Thompson's record in the league's list of all-time scorers back on June 18, 2017.

"Diana isn't one that's that interested in individual awards. For her, it's about the love of the game and that incorporates the love of this organization," Penny Taylor, Taurasi's wife and Mercury Hall of Famer, said in "The Drive," a YouTube series the Mercury created to document Taurasi's milestone. "She's been here her whole career. She's scored every one of those points for this team. And in every single game and every point she scored, the ambition has been to win."

Taurasi, along with fellow former Husky great Sue Bird, also owns the Olympic record for five-straight gold medals and is a six-time Euroleague Champion.

While the 41-year-old hasn't announced official plans regarding her longevity in the sport, she has hinted that the 2024 season will be her last in the WNBA as she plans on competing in one final Olympics before retiring. The 2024 Summer Olympics will be hosted in Paris from July 26 through August 11.

Bird retired following her 21-year career in WNBA last fall.

"Every morning I wake up wanting to play basketball, wanting to compete, wanting to get this team back on track to win the championship," Taurasi said. "All those things are still inside me revving up this uncomfortable, little brat that just wants to keep playing basketball. So that's where I'm still at."

Etching her name in records books isn't new to Taurasi. The California native was the best college basketball player during her time at UConn from 2000-2004.

Taurasi led UConn to three-straight NCAA Championship titles (2002, 03 and 04). She was twice named the NCAA Tournament's MVP along with being a two-time Naismith Award winner, a two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner and a two-time Big East Player of the Year. In 2003, Taurasi was also the Wade Trophy recipient, the USBWA Player of the Year and the AP College Player of the Year.

"When you love something and you're passionate about something, you push the limits, and sometimes pushing the limits gets you in trouble and sometimes, you know, beautiful things come out of it," Taurasi said. "And, you know, I just think it's not my record. It's not my number and it's going to be a number that will be broken at one point by someone that loves basketball as much as I do and willing to give up moments that you take for granted for moments that are legendary."