Diana Taurasi Appears in 500th Career WNBA Game

The Mercury guard becomes just the second player in league history to accomplish the feat.

Diana Taurasi became just the second WNBA player to appear in 500 career games on Friday.

The only other WNBA player to accomplish the feat is Sue Bird. Coincidentally, Taurasi’s Mercury will faced Bird’s Storm on Friday night.

Another coincidence with Taurasi’s milestone is that Bird also played her 500th game on July 22, back in 2018. The Seattle star now has appeared in 570 games during her 21-year career.

Bird will retire after the 2022 season, the 41-year-old announced back in June. Just one year younger at 40, Taurasi hasn’t made any announcement regarding her future in the league. This is Taurasi’s 18th WNBA season.

The Phoenix star leads the WNBA in career points, with 9,623 entering Friday’s game. Tina Thompson ranks a distant second at 7,488. Taurasi also holds the league record for most career three-pointers with 1,284.

Taurasi has been a part of five gold medal-winning Team USA basketball Olympic teams during her career.

The 10-time All-Star is averaging 16.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists so far this season. 

The Mercury currently rank fifth in the Western Conference with an 11–16 record.