How Diana Taurasi’s Phoenix legacy is bigger than basketball

Inside the arena, the Mercury leaned into that identity even more. The team placed orange and purple T-shirts with the legend’s picture and number on the seats of the lower bowl in preparation for what was to come later on. The energy was part of game day, but also part of a reunion — a celebration of one of the most important figures in Phoenix basketball history.

Taurasi’s induction into the Ring of Honor brought plenty of reflection on the accolades she earned, the people she’s inspired and the league she helped change. Friends and family also had the opportunity to celebrate the career of a player who meant so much to them. But one important thing that never changed in her 20-year career was the city that stood by her side — Phoenix.

“Twenty years is a lot of time in one place, in a city,” Taurasi said to reporters ahead of her ceremony, candidly talking in Spanish — translated to English. “When I came here 20 years ago, I didn’t know where Arizona was.”

She came from a family based in California and had gone to school in Connecticut. Phoenix was unfamiliar, but that changed when she was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA 2004 Draft.

“But the first day I arrived here, I knew that something special was the people, the community, the basketball culture here is incredible,” Taurasi said.

That culture became part of her story as she spoke about the atmosphere surrounding Mercury games and the loyalty of the fans who filled the arena.

“And for the X-Factor, every time I came here to play a game, I knew that this arena was going to be full,” she said. “People come here, they are fans. They love the team … The emotion, the respect the players receive here is like no other.”

Taurasi’s connection to Phoenix was never limited to the basketball court, either. She spoke specifically about the people who became family to her and the importance of the city’s Hispanic community.

“So the truth is that I’m grateful to be here, all the people that became family to me here,” Taurasi said. “The Hispanic community that is so important to me, especially here in Phoenix — a very important part of the city.”

The Mercury will no longer have Taurasi on the court. But on Sunday, Phoenix made clear that moving forward does not mean moving on. No. 3 now belongs permanently to the history of the Mercury, and to a city that, 20 years ago, Taurasi barely knew existed.

Today, it’s impossible to tell the story of Phoenix basketball without her.

And judging by the jerseys outside the arena and the No. 3 in the rafters, the city is more than happy to keep telling it.