Diana Taurasi went back to the film. In an exclusive interview out this morning, the WNBA's most prolific scorer broke down the Diana Taurasi 10,000 points shot, the basket that made her the first player in league history to reach five figures, possession by possession, with the person who took it doing the narrating.
I don't have the full transcript in front of me yet, and honestly the framing is the part I keep chewing on. Most all-time scoring marks arrive as a scoreboard graphic and a timeout hug. This one came back as mechanics. Footwork, spacing, where the ball was supposed to go and where it actually went. Scorers remember shots the way pitchers remember at-bats.
The rest of the resume is the context that makes 10,000 possible in the first place. Phoenix drafted her first overall in 2004 and she never wore another jersey, 20 seasons in one uniform in a league where careers are short and rosters turn over every spring. Three championships with the Mercury in 2007, 2009 and 2014. League MVP in 2009. Five Olympic gold medals. And before any of it, three national titles at UConn in 2002, 2003 and 2004, which is where the swagger got built.
checked the almanac: that 2001-02 UConn team went 39-0, one of the cleanest seasons anybody has ever put on a college floor, and Taurasi was the sophomore on it. undefeated is a word you rarely get to use twice.
What comes next for her is the part retired legends do not always enjoy: becoming a story other people tell. The companion piece making the rounds is teammates swapping untold Taurasi tales, and you can already hear the tone, half reverence and half "you would not believe what she said in that huddle." That is how it goes. The stat sheet closes and the mythology opens.
What I'm watching is the chase. Somebody will eventually come for 10,000, and the shooting is not the obstacle. Twenty healthy years in one league is the obstacle. That is the number that should scare people.