Diana Taurasi says goodbye to one of the greatest careers in women’s basketball history

PHOENIX (AP) - Diana Taurasi wanted to take her time before deciding whether to retire.

Once the Phoenix Mercury star made up her mind, the decision came with the same kind of decisiveness she displayed through one of the greatest careers in women’s basketball history.

"I thought really hard about maybe playing again, but I knew that in my heart, I was physically, mentally, just full with the game of basketball," Taurasi said during her retirement news conference on Thursday.

"Everything it's given me in life, the ups and downs, the journeys, the incredible smiles, the frowns, the championships. It's always been with a group of people that always cared about this game."

Taurasi leaves with women’s basketball at the height of its popularity, with record attendance, viewership and merchandise sales.

She helped set the foundation.

With her taut hair bun and supreme confidence, Taurasi inspired a generation of players while racking up records and championships.

She led UConn to three straight national titles from 2001-04 and kept on winning after the Mercury selected her with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 WNBA draft.

Taurasi spent her entire 20-year career in Phoenix, leading the Mercury to three WNBA championships. She was the 2009 WNBA MVP and one of four players to earn WNBA Finals MVP honors twice, in 2009 and 2014.

"There's just this pride of being from the Valley that's close to my heart because for the last 20 years, I’ve really grown up here," said Taurasi, who announced her retirement on Feb. 26.

She gave fans in the desert - and beyond - plenty to cheer about.

Taurasi made the all-WNBA first team 10 times and was on the first or second team a record 14 times. She's also an 11-time WNBA All-Star, four-time USA Basketball female athlete of the year and was the 2004 WNBA rookie of the year.

The 42-year-old added six Euroleague championships while playing year-round most of her career and won her record sixth Olympic gold medal at last year’s Paris Games. Her 10,646 career points are nearly 3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles.

The Glendale, California, native holds numerous other WNBA records, including playoff scoring, field goals, 3-pointers and 30-point games. She also holds 16 Mercury records.

Taurasi had career averages of 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds. She averaged 14.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists while leading the Mercury to the playoffs during her 20th season.

"I did everything because I wanted to win - I wanted to compete and I wanted to win," she said. "I didn't do it for a little bit of fame, a little bit of money. I didn't do it for any of that. I did it literally to win and have the respect of the people around me."

Now that she's retired, Taurasi will be able to spend more time with her wife, Penny Taylor - a former Mercury teammate - and their two children.

The Mercury plan to induct her into their ring of honor this summer - a fitting tribute to one of the game’s greatest players.