Friday night was supposed to belong to Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi as the spotlight was firmly on the celebration of the two in their final matchup as WNBA players before Bird’s end-of-season retirement.
That’s what it was supposed to be. But Skylar Diggins-Smith stole the show, and honestly, we should have known what was coming when she arrived at the arena.
Diggins-Smith, the six-time WNBA All-Star, pulled up to Footprint Center in Phoenix with a certain mentality fit for the occasion — the Mamba mentality. She strolled through the arena rocking the vintage No. 33 Kobe Bryant jersey that he wore as a high school star at Lower Merion.