After two decades of dominance in the WNBA, Diana Taurasi announced her retirement on Tuesday. Taurasi bids farewell to the game as arguably one of the best to ever play. And as is the ritual, players and analysts showered her with love and respect for the brilliant career she has had. But when a star or legend retires, it’s not only the game they put to rest, it’s also the many rivalries they built over the years.
Advertisement
In all fairness, while the admiration and cheers of the crowd, the adrenaline that runs through your veins when you make that last second clutch shot is irreplacable. Putting behind those fierce battles with a contemporary behind may just be the most underrated struggle of retiring.
For Candace Parker and Taurasi, this announcement is a full stop on a story they have written together for over two decades. And yes, Parker retired in 2023. But as long as Taurasi played, Parker’s legacy continued too. Much like Kobe Bryant’s did until Dwyane Wade, his most ferocious rival, retired.
Naturally, Parker had an emotional and heartfelt reaction to Diana’s retirement news. The 38-year-old, while on the Postgame Show on TNT, said the best thing about Taurasi was that she always forced her competitors to bring their A-Game.
As someone who played against the all-time leading scorer for over a decade, Parker understands what she has done for the WNBA. She said, “We had some amazing battles, especially early in my WNBA career, like Phoenix was the team to beat and Diana set the tone.” By the time Parker finished her rookie year, Taurasi was already a two-time champion.
Parker said that they were fierce rivals and didn’t pretend to like each other. But even at the peak of their competition, there was mutual respect for each other and the game. She said, “We respected the game and brought out the best in one another.” Parker congratulated the Phoenix Mercury legend for a brilliant career.
"We respected the game and brought the best out in one another" 🐐@Candace_Parker reflects on her matchups with Diana Taurasi after she announced her retirement today 🤝 pic.twitter.com/dE7clknP8H
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 26, 2025
The Sparks legend boasts a winning record over Taurasi. In the regular season, she has a 17-14 record whereas in the playoffs she won eight and lost seven. However, Taurasi has a better scoring and assist tally than Parker. She averaged 18.8 points per game to Parker’s 16 and 4.2 APG to her 4.
Diana Taurasi’s major achievements
Taurasi played her last farewell game in front of the home fans. She was the first WNBA athlete to play for 20 seasons in the league. In that time, Taurasi won three league titles and two Finals MVP titles.
She was the WNBA MVP in 2009, an 11-time All-Star (second most in the league), and had 14 All-WNBA selections (most ever). Taurasi also holds the record for most scoring titles (five), most career points (10,646), most three-pointers made (1,447), and field goals made (3,341).
She is also the record holder for most Olympic basketball medals, winning gold on all six occasions. Her dominance throughout two decades can be summarized by the fact that the second-highest-scoring leader in the WNBA, Tina Charles, is nearly 3000 points behind her. A true testament of her grit and legacy.
