Key Takeaways
- The Phoenix Mercury retired Diana Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey at Mortgage Matchup Center, honoring her 20-year, one-franchise career that produced three WNBA titles and the league’s all-time scoring record.
- The ceremony featured tribute videos from stars like LeBron James, Sue Bird, Lisa Leslie, and A’ja Wilson, appearances by Brittney Griner, Sheryl Swoopes, Devin Booker, and Larry Fitzgerald, and 20 former Mercury figures each presenting Taurasi with a white rose for every season she played in Phoenix.
- Taurasi delivered an emotional 30-minute speech highlighting her immigrant parents’ sacrifices and her bond with Phoenix, closing with the line, “It’s been 20 years, one city, one team, one jersey, and tonight that No. 3 is on all our backs.”
Diana Taurasi gave everything to the Phoenix Mercury for 20 seasons. And on Sunday, August 16, the franchise made sure no one will ever wear her No. 3 again. The Mercury retired Taurasi’s jersey at Mortgage Matchup Center, capping one of the most dominant—and remarkably loyal—careers in WNBA history.
According to ESPN, the ceremony followed Phoenix’s 88-85 loss to the Portland Fire, but the game quickly gave way to the main event. Taurasi stood on the same court where she won one of her three WNBA championships, shattered records and scored her 10,000th career point, then held the crowd for more than 30 minutes.
“I really don’t know where to start because I don’t know where it ends,” Taurasi said. “Tonight feels like the end and the beginning of so many things in my life.”
Phoenix went big for the occasion. Commemorative shirts covered every seat, Taurasi’s name glowed in oversized letters and Mercury players wore tribute tees during warmups.
There was even a pen of actual goats inside the arena, just in case the message was not already clear. LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Sue Bird, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers were among the basketball stars who saluted Taurasi in recorded messages.
The guest list matched the moment. Brittney Griner flew in to honor her former teammate, while WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker watched from the stands.
Newly inducted Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald—another athlete whose name became inseparable from an Arizona franchise—attended with two of his sons.
Twenty former teammates and Mercury figures also presented Taurasi with white roses, one for each season she spent in Phoenix. The group included Griner, Kahleah Copper, Bridget Pettis, Anna DeForge and Bria Hartley.
Taurasi thanked the coaches, teammates, executives, trainers and equipment staffers who helped carry her through two decades, but her family drew the night’s biggest emotions. She honored her parents, Mario and Lili, who moved from Argentina to the United States, and recalled her father working in a sheet-metal factory for 50 years.
“We don’t all get the same pieces,” Taurasi said while dismissing the idea that life is a fair game of chess. “But don’t let those shortcomings knock you down because, like my parents that came to this country, hey, look at their last name,” she added, pointing toward the rafters.
Drafted No. 1 overall by Phoenix in 2004 after winning three straight NCAA championships at UConn, Taurasi never changed WNBA teams. She delivered championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014 and finished her career as the league’s all-time leading scorer.
“When your number goes up there, you can’t use it anymore,” Taurasi said. “It’s done.”
Then she landed the final line: “It’s been 20 years, one city, one team, one jersey, and tonight that No. 3 is on all our backs.”
