Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi. Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Diana Taurasi adds another accolade ahead of possible career finale

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Sep 23, 2024 1:21 PM ET

This Wednesday could mark the last time Diana Taurasi steps on the court for a WNBA game.

With Taurasi's Mercury losing to the Lynx, 102-95, in Game 1 of the playoffs on Sunday, they find themselves on the brink of elimination. If Phoenix fails to level up the series on Wednesday, basketball fans could be in for an emotional night.

On her possible way out, though, Taurasi isn't done setting new benchmarks. During Game 1, the 42-year-old became the oldest player in either the WNBA or NBA to score over 20 points in a playoff game. She had 21 points in Sunday's loss.

Diana Taurasi is the oldest player in WNBA/NBA history to score 20+ PTS in a playoff game. pic.twitter.com/uphE07u7QS
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) September 22, 2024

While Taurasi has yet to confirm her retirement timeline, she was showered with love by her teammates and fans in her possible final home game last Thursday. Those scenes at the Footprint Center in Phoenix felt like everyone was preparing for the inevitable, especially with Mercury entering a first-round series against a juggernaut team in Lynx that finished with the second-best record in the league.

Furthermore, Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said after Sunday's game that the ongoing playoffs "seem like her retirement tour" but didn't know with certainty if Taurasi was on her way out.

"I don't know, she's been pretty quiet about it," Collier said of Taurasi's plans. "...Hopefully, we can end her career on Wednesday [laughs]."

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier was asked what Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi may do after the end of the season:

“Hopefully we can end her career on Wednesday,” Collier said jokingly.#WNBA #WNBAPlayoffs #ValleyTogether #LynxRecognize pic.twitter.com/NFtDNZ6bbU
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) September 22, 2024

If Wednesday does mark Taurasi's last game, it'd be a rather anti-climatic end, as she'd not get to bid a proper goodbye to a fanbase in Phoenix that cherished her for 19 seasons. However, Taurasi has previously suggested she's not keen on a big farewell and would rather leave the game unassumingly.

"I won’t be doing any [farewell] tours," Taurasi said recently, via Sportico's Barry M. Bloom. "When I go, I'll just go. Don't we always just go?"

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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