Diana Taurasi Reveals Post-Retirement Goal While Pondering WNBA Future
Whenever she decides to call it quits on her professional basketball career, Diana Taurasi will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the sport, regardless of gender.
While there's no question about that, there is a question of when Taurasi will decide to retire. Amid all the praise and advice Taurasi has received from basketball icons who seemed to believe her 2024 campaign with the Phoenix Mercury might have been her last, Taurasi never made that retirement decision clear.
And the reason why she didn't say anything definite was revealed on Tuesday: She still doesn't know when she's going to retire.
An October 22 article from the Associated Press quoted Taurasi saying, "I don’t take retirement lightly. I know the minute I say it or announce it, whether it’s, you know, in a month or two months, I’m going to mean it I talk to [wife] Penny [Taylor] and the Mercury, so I’m still in the thought process.”
Taurasi, who has played 20 WNBA seasons and turned 42 years old in June, added of the retirement decision, "I have not taken it lightly. I think about it every day. You know, I’m still in deep thought about it. I want to make the right decision, you know, and I’m just taking my time a little bit.
“And, you know, sometimes when the season ends, the last thing you want to think about is the next season," she continued.
While her playing days may not be over yet, Taurasi already knows what she'd like to do once her retirement arrives.
“I definitely love the idea of being able to have a position where obviously you influence a team,” she said, suggesting she's interested in owning a team.
“But more than that, just being around [Phoenix Mercury owner] Mat [Ishbia] for a little bit, just seeing how he’s influenced this whole city and change the energy of what an owner can do to really the outlook of a city, the feeling of a city. The things to which he’s done with the team, it’s really the next step, I think, for female athletes,” she added.
Diana Taurasi is still mulling over her decision whether to play another season in the WNBA or retire. The 20-year veteran and future Hall of Famer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she is going to take her time on deciding what she wants to do. https://t.co/IyT2bJWRqE
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) October 22, 2024
So even if Taurasi never takes the court again, it seems fans can expect her to remain a part of the WNBA's future.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.