Tag: Diana Taurasi

Diana Taurasi getting a technical foul before potentially retiring is so on-brand

Never change, DT.

If this is it for Diana Taurasi, she went out as only Diana Taurasi could — with a technical foul.

Nobody should be shocked by now. Taurasi received dozens of techs throughout her 20-year career, including six this season, and built a reputation as one of the biggest trash talkers in basketball. Even referees are not safe if Taurasi has something to say.

It’s unclear if Wednesday’s playoff game against the Minnesota Lynx is her last. But if it is, she had no problem mixing it up with Myisha Hines-Allen after Hines-Allen took exception to some pushing. As if ordered by the basketball gods, words were exchanged, and double technicals were handed out.

https://twitter.com/BorzMN/status/1839142456471732635

https://twitter.com/TimeoutSPORTS3/status/1839142694934794388

Of course, fans loved Taurasi getting ANOTHER tech before potentially calling it a career. Here’s how they reacted:

https://twitter.com/barryroyco/status/1839143422147338359

https://twitter.com/huskytrax5_/status/1839142446787092934

https://twitter.com/lamannanana/status/1839142948455461374

https://twitter.com/darcangel21/status/1839268540098007506

It also wouldn’t be a Diana Taurasi game without her fouling out and receiving a standing ovation for doing so.

https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1839149215378817315

https://twitter.com/cjzero/status/1839149524654149944

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Napheesa Collier jokingly said she wants to ‘end’ Diana Taurasi’s career

Napheesa Collier from the top rope.

Napheesa Collier made a funny Diana Taurasi retirement joke Sunday after the Lynx outlasted the Mercury in a playoff thriller.

I hope you were watching Game 1 of the Mercury-Lynx playoff matchup. IT WAS GOOD. Minnesota had a 23-point lead before the Phoenix came STORMING back. Then, a lifetime of buckets was traded until Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton slammed the door with a gritty fadeaway 3-point bucket. It was everything you hoped playoff basketball would be.

So many people were HOOPING, including 42-year-old Diana Taurasi, who dropped 21 points on 50 percent shooting. WHEW. But, it seems that was too much for Phee Collier because she jokingly said during a Lynx postgame presser that she hopes Minnesota could send Taurasi into retirement. This is what Collier shared with the media:

“It seems like it’s her retirement tour. I don’t know. She’s been pretty quiet about it. But, she’s obviously, like I said, a UConn great, a league GOAT.”

“So, I feel lucky to have been able to play with her on Team USA and against her, and hopefully, we can end her career on Wednesday.”

However, Phee later clarified that she didn’t want any smoke with DT or the Mercury. She just wants to win.

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Caitlin Clark passed Diana Taurasi for the 2nd-most 3-pointers made in a WNBA season

What a remarkable achievement for Caitlin Clark.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark is pretty good at making 3-pointers in the WNBA.

She’s so good that she recorded her 122nd 3-point basket of the season against the hosting Washington Mystics on Thursday night.

Clark making that bucket helped her pass Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi (121 in 2006) for the second-most 3-pointers made in a single WNBA season.

New York Liberty superstar Sabrina Ionescu still holds the WNBA record with her 128 3-pointers in 2023, but Clark is now right behind her in the history books.

This is a remarkable accomplishment in a rookie season full of those for Clark, and we’re sure even more 3-pointers are on the way for the Fever rookie as Indiana prepares for the 2024 playoffs.

https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1836907704784191647

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It sure seems like Diana Taurasi has played her final season with the Phoenix Mercury

Diana Taurasi could be retiring, and the Mercury are seemingly prepping just in case.

It sure seems like Diana Taurasi has played her final season with the Phoenix Mercury. If DT is retiring, Phoenix might be preparing just in case.

Diana Taurasi owes us no explanation about what she will do with her WNBA career. It will be on her terms whenever she walks away. However, it seems like this could be her last ride because, per Spotrac, she’s *technically* an unrestricted free agent next season. Also, Phoenix recently unveiled a pretty stellar campaign paying tribute to her illustrious career.

It started with a tweet a few weeks back touting final chances for fans to see her play at home. Furthermore, it now includes a thank you video with her wife and the voices of players central to her career, like Brittney Griner. Here’s that awesome video with so many cool DT moments.

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1836843145323270625

Again, it’s unclear whether this is actually it for Taurasi. But here are nine other times the Mercury hinted that it could be:

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1836823272329277752

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1836823654728094137

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1836809511291535481

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1836797407624929574

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1836450205530755383

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1835732927659004399

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1835053693714272339

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1834308385883472345

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1833594589011447829

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The Mercury may have unintentionally soft-launched Diana Taurasi’s retirement and WNBA fans are losing it

WNBA fans are in shambles over a Diana Taurasi post the Mercury made.

The Phoenix Mercury may have soft-launched Diana Taurasi‘s pending retirement, and fans are going wild with speculation.

It’s anybody’s guess how long Taurasi has left in the WNBA. Here’s what we know: DT has already said that this past Olympics was her last competition — a possible indication that the end is coming sooner than later. She’s also in year 20 of playing professional basketball. That’s a long time to be hooping.

But the Mercury may have unintentionally hinted at when DT’s ride off into the sunset will happen. In a recent post about the season winding down, Phoenix mentioned, “If this is it,” fans have two more chances to see one of the GOATs play.

https://twitter.com/PhoenixMercury/status/1833197322454585819

Of course, people are having a field day with the tweet. Here’s what they said:

https://twitter.com/ByAlexAzzi/status/1833207923214061661

https://twitter.com/ffazed_0ut/status/1833202735174586458

https://twitter.com/_talkswithtj/status/1833226682192347218

https://twitter.com/jhor_ee/status/1833248960301175003

https://twitter.com/KBO_XXV/status/1833215554267594846

https://twitter.com/35mmadi/status/1833219566324817981

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Tina Charles shared a cool moment with Diana Taurasi before making WNBA history as its 2nd all-time leading scorer

What a great night for Tina Charles and the WNBA.

WNBA legend Tina Charles made league history on Wednesday night in the Atlanta Dream’s home game against the Phoenix Mercury.

With a 3-pointer, Charles passed Tina Thompson on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list to earn the second spot.

The former WNBA MVP is now only behind Mercury legend Diana Taurasi on the league’s all-time scoring list, which is an absolutely stellar feat for the Dream center.

In fact, the fellow UConn alumni and good friends shared an awesome moment with each other before Charles achieved her fantastic scoring mark.

What a great moment this is for WNBA history, as Charles further solidified her legacy and will now stand right next to Taurasi in the WNBA hall of history.

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Video recounts Skylar Diggins-Smith tumultuous Phoenix Mercury tenure

Skylar is Skylar.

Notre Dame legend [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag] has developed both a good and bad reputation in the WNBA. Though she’s built a Hall of Fame resume, she also gets into sticky situations. Most recently, she decided to bump Caitlin Clark during a play stoppage in a game.

Secret Base, one of the best sports channels on YouTube, decided to take a look at Diggins-Smith’s four-year tenure with the Phoenix Mercury that often was filled with tension. While the title of the video says her beef was with the legendary Diana Taurasi, the video itself really is more about Diggins-Smith and her beef with the Mercury as a whole:

During the three seasons Diggins-Smith actually played for the Mercury, she made All-WNBA each year, was a two-time All-Star, and she averaged 18.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game. Former Irish standout [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] was with her each season.

Despite the seemingly ideal circumstances, Diggins-Smith clearly was not happy with the Mercury, and the feeling appeared to be mutual. So she signed with the Seattle Storm this past offseason, joining fellow Irish legend [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

It’s clear Diggins-Smith’s demeanor will not change. Hopefully, that doesn’t cloud her legacy.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Diana Taurasi put her arm around Caitlin Clark right before a free throw in a sweet moment

Maybe this means they’re cool now.

The Diana Taurasi warnings to Caitlin Clark before the WNBA season that made so many headlines were already kind of gone when the Phoenix Mercury vet praised the Indiana Fever rookie a couple of months ago.

But we’ve now seen some friendly moments, especially now that Clark’s Fever beat Taurasi and the Mercury three times this year.

And if you need further proof, perhaps a peace offering, here it is: with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter and one of Taurasi’s teammates at the line for a free throw, Taurasi got over and put her arm around Clark before play continued:

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Caitlin Clark’s Fever completed its sweep of the Mercury, and Diana Taurasi’s narrative is in shambles

Well, well, well!

Back in April, Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi said that reality was coming for Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark in her first WNBA season.

That sentiment backfired just a bit on Friday night as Clark’s Fever gave Taurasi’s Mercury a reality check of its own.

The Fever’s 98-89 home victory over the Mercury completed a 3-0 sweep of Phoenix for Indiana this season, which is just a bit ironic for how the preseason narrative built between Taurasi and Clark after the former’s remarks.

Even though there was speculation of one, there really wasn’t any beef here. The Mercury veteran has been extremely complimentary of Clark for how she’s played since joining the WNBA, and Clark has been glowing when discussing Taurasi’s career.

Even on the court, the two have shown each other a lot of respect and even shared a laugh with each other during a long review in their first WNBA matchup.

Also, Taurasi missed the second meeting in July between these two teams with an injury, but she played in the first in June and the third on Friday night. It’s more than fair to wonder how that second game might have gone if Taurasi had played.

We’re not sure if Clark and Taurasi will play against each other again in the WNBA since Taurasi could retire at the end of this season. Potential 2024 playoff seeding is not a likely option for another contest between the two teams, at least not in the first round.

If Taurasi returns for next season, they will play again if both players are healthy. If she retires, she’ll end her WNBA career without a win against Clark. Selfishly, we’d love to see these two compete against each other again next year, which would mean Taurasi returns for one more run.

At least for now, Clark has the upper hand in this really fun rivalry.

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The Mercury returned from the WNBA Olympic break by trolling Caitlin Clark with a Diana Taurasi TikTok tribute

The Phoenix Mercury have chosen chaos.

For 16 glorious days during the 2024 Paris Olympics, we had (mostly) peace. Everyone was getting along. It was very “RAHHH! USA! USA! USA!” — you know, just patriotism and vibes.

But the WNBA returns to action from the Olympic break Thursday, and the Phoenix Mercury social admins have chosen chaos, even violence. They couldn’t just ease their way back into the fray. Oh no. They had to troll a fan who made a TikTok video lamenting having no WNBA games to watch.

I mean, the video is pretty great. It says a lot of the stuff most fans were probably thinking, including “I miss the WNBA” and “I miss the assists, the double-doubles, pre-game outfits…”

@rosalina_lee

#caitlinclark #angelreese #wnba #fypシ゚viral #fypage #emotions #depressionanxiety

♬ original sound – HoopScoop

But it also says, “Caitlin, where are you?” and that was all they needed to create a wild mashup.

They found a clip of a young Mercury fan saying, “Who’s Caitlin? I’m here for Taurasi,” and immediately launched into a Diana Taurasi tribute.

@phoenixmercury

we’ll take our six-time gold medalist any day of the week, thank you #WNBA #DianaTaurasi #Basketball #PhoenixMercury (Inspo📱: @HoopScoop )

♬ original sound – Phoenix Mercury

Let me be clear. This is complete nasty work. A total pot-stirrer move. The Mercury obviously haven’t forgotten about the Fever trolling the team after a big win back in June.

But also — THE WNBA IS SO BACK.

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