Diana Taurasi put the WNBA in a better position by simply being herself

It is entirely fitting that Diana Taurasi turned down a farewell tour, forcing the Phoenix Mercury to drop hints, big and small, about her retirement so that fans would not be surprised.

Taurasi has built her career on doing exactly what she wanted and nothing she didn't want to do. When she came to the WNBA 20 years ago, she didn't care that female athletes had to look and act a certain way. They weren't even allowed to sweat, let alone talk nonsense, play physical, collect technical fouls like souvenirs and publicly rant about losses.

But Taurasi did all that and more. She didn't care if she annoyed her opponents or ran afoul of the WNBA officials. She was a basketball player and she always stayed true to that attitude.

Anyone who thought she would change course now must be new here.

“DT,” Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said last weekend, “does it her way.”

And she leaves the game better.

Even before Taurasi stepped foot on UConn's campus in 2000, there were badass female athletes. Women who weren't afraid to own their size. Women who weren't afraid to show off their muscles. Women who weren't afraid to be competitive.

But Taurasi was one of the first to understand all that. When her poor performance as a freshman in the Final Four contributed to UConn's semifinal loss, she vowed the Huskies would never lose another tournament game during her tenure.

They failed to do so, winning three NCAA titles in a row.

She took that feistiness with her to the WNBA, where she didn't hesitate to overwhelm anyone not wearing the Mercury uniform when it came to winning. Taurasi didn't take defeat well, as evidenced by the cracked door in the visitors' locker room at Wintrust Arena after Phoenix lost to the Chicago Sky in the 2021 finals.

She made her opponents look ridiculous with her circus trick passes and 3-pointers from anywhere she wanted. Think Caitlin Clark has what it takes? Taurasi was Clark before Clark even picked up a ball. She holds the WNBA records for points, field goals and 3-pointers. (And of course fouls, turnovers and technical fouls too.)

“Playing against DT was torture,” said Natasha Cloud, who spent her first eight seasons with the Washington Mystics before signing with Phoenix this year. “I left games with bruises all over my arm. She's one of the hardest players to defend because she just has so many weapons.”

“And what makes her super dangerous is that she can pass the ball pretty damn well too,” Cloud added. “So you really have to be on your guard when you play against her.”

Taurasi won three WNBA titles and was MVP in 2009. Perhaps the most fitting honor came in 2019 when the WNBA made her its logo. Oh, the league won't say that, but come on. The silhouette shows Taurasi's shot, her form And her trademark, the bun.

“One of our pillars, one of our legends will no longer be in the game, so she will be missed by the game,” Brittney Griner said when asked last weekend how Taurasi will be remembered when she retires.

But Taurasi was so much more than her attitude and her performances. If you ask her teammates about her, they will talk about her leadership qualities. Not just on the pitch, where she has three-dimensional vision and an encyclopedic knowledge of every player and every team. Off the pitch, too.

As rough as Taurasi may seem, she “loves it rough,” says Sophie Cunningham, who has played with Taurasi for six years.

“Dee is a very, very special egg,” Cunningham said. “When people really get to know Dee, they really see how much she cares and how much she wants the person next to her to be as successful as she is.”

That became apparent after Griner's release from the Russian prison where she was wrongfully held for 10 months. When Griner was ready to leave the Texas military facility where she spent her first week in the United States, Taurasi was there to escort her back to Phoenix.

“My whole career is tied to Dee,” Griner, who played with Taurasi on the Mercury and UMMC Ekaterinburg, told USA TODAY Sports. “I've always said that a lot of my success is because of Dee. So it will be a sad day (when she retires).

“But it's also going to be a great day because we can really celebrate,” Griner added. “She's one of the most selfless people I know and she hates it when people say things about her. But now, when that day comes, she's got no choice but to hear us talk about her. And praise her and give her everything she deserves and all the flowers she deserves. Because she's done a lot for the game.”

The victories and what they had to achieve were always more important to Taurasi than the trappings of success. The people who saw her as a troublemaker did not understand that she was determined to get the most out of basketball because she did not want to cheat the game that gave her everything.

“I look at it differently: It gives me the opportunity to do something I love to do,” Taurasi said Sunday when asked if she could appreciate everything she had done for the game.

“And I think lately I've been thinking a little bit more about how grateful we all should be,” she added. “You have to step back and really appreciate the moment we're in in women's sports and in the WNBA. As a lot of things change, we really have to be grateful for everyone who came before us – and grateful for the next generation as well.”

The game got better because Taurasi played it. And it will continue to be better because she played it her way.

Follow USA TODAY sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

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