After years of being considered the greatest WNBA player of all time, Diana Taurasi cemented her legacy as a true 1-of-1 superstar with a historic basket on Thursday night.
Taurasi, who’s in her 19th WNBA season, etched her name in the league record books during the Mercury’s matchup against the Dream by becoming the first player in league history to eclipse 10,000 career points.
Needing 18 points entering the matchup, the star Mercury guard passed the monumental threshold at the 8:23 mark of the third quarter. Taurasi, after hitting a step-back jumper on the previous possession, nailed a three-pointer following an assist from guard Moriah Jefferson to put Phoenix up 51–39.
After scoring 10 points in the first half, Taurasi went on to finish Phoenix’s 91-71 victory with another classic performance on her big night. The future Hall of Famer scored a season-high 42 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field (6-of-13 from three) and 12-of-12 shooting from the free throw line.
HISTORY ‼️
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 4, 2023
(via @espn)pic.twitter.com/V0pqWiWKkX
The first pick in the 2004 draft, Taurasi, or the “White Mamba” – as she’s known the world over—has claimed many accolades in her illustrious career. But, after over 520 career games, the three-time WNBA champion and 10-time All-Star now stands alone in the annals of league history.
On a night where she notched her first 40-point game since 2010, the red-hot outing made Taurasi, 41, the oldest player in WNBA history to score 40 points, per ESPN. She now has 10,024 points in her career, with Tina Thompson’s previous record of 7,488 points in second.
In her 18 games played this season, Taurasi, who became the WNBA all-time leading scorer in 2017, has averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per contest prior to Thursday’s matchup. The Mercury (7–19) currently rank fourth in the West, and 11th in the league standings with 14 games remaining.
THE SHOT 👑@DianaTaurasi forever etches her name in #WNBA History as the first player to 10K career points!#MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/AVByekTwaV
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 4, 2023
