Sunday night isn't just about retiring a jersey. For Diana Taurasi, it's a full-circle moment that began with a simple pass on a basketball court—the same court where she found her life partner.
The Phoenix Mercury are set to hoist Taurasi's No. 3 to the rafters in a nationally televised game on ESPN, but the ceremony will be as much about love as it is about legacy. Courtside, next to Taurasi, will be her wife of nearly a decade, Penny Taylor—her former teammate, fellow champion, and the woman she met through the very sport that made her a legend.
“Ownership is always something that’s always been on my mind,” Taurasi said Friday after a court-naming dedication in Phoenix. “So, thankfully, I’m in a great place where it hopefully can evolve into something. But, I don’t want to just do it and not be around. When I do it, I want to be around because I want to have an influence on where this franchise goes. And obviously being in Phoenix would be the goal.”
That goal is a long way from the rookie who arrived in Arizona in 2004. Taurasi spent her entire career with the Mercury, winning three WNBA titles—and she did it all with Taylor, who joined the team in 2009 and again later in her career. They are the only two players to win all three championships with the franchise, a bond that extends far beyond the box score.
“There was a couple breaking points along the way,” Taurasi admitted. “My first 10 years you win three championships and you think, well, I mean, we’re going to win three more. As an athlete, as a competitor, that’s your mindset.”
But the road wasn't always smooth. The Mercury faced lean years, and Taurasi considered walking away. “There’s been times where things didn’t look great for us as a franchise,” she said. “But, I think that’s the beauty also of what the times were like. You had to be there through the ups and the downs, and it made the ups so much sweeter. Some of my favorite memories were on teams that didn’t win a championship because there was that internal struggle and grit that you had to have as a group, knowing you had to be more together or play harder or be more focused than the next team because they were more talented than you. So, I mean, all those moments kind of fed off each other. But yeah, there were times where I’m like, ‘Boy, I think the writing’s on the wall. I might need a new start. The franchise might need a new start,’ but we always kind of figured it out.”
Taylor, now 45, played in the WNBA from 2001 to 2014, with stops in Phoenix from 2009-11, 2013-14, and 2016. She and Taurasi married in 2017, and they now call the Phoenix area home. Their partnership—on and off the court—has become one of the most enduring in sports, a testament to how the game can forge unbreakable bonds.
As the Mercury honor Taurasi's legacy, they're also honoring a love story that started with a shared passion for basketball. For Taurasi, the night is about more than a number in the rafters; it's about the person who made the journey unforgettable.
For more on Taurasi's career and the Mercury's celebration, check out the upcoming Hall of Fame class that could include her, and remember the ESPN legend who called many of her games.
