UConn women’s basketball legend Diana Taurasi still going strong in 20th WNBA season with Phoenix Mercury

UNCASVILLE — UConn women’s basketball legend Diana Taurasi is the only player drafted before 2009 still competing in the WNBA, but the key to the 20-year veteran’s unmatched longevity doesn’t involve a secret formula or fountain of youth.

“It’s really simple. You show up every single day and you work harder than the next person. It’s really just as simple as that,” Taurasi said. “There are no magic tricks. There’s nothing special going on on the court. Just get in the gym every single day before everyone and stay after everybody. It’s the only way I can do it. I’ve said before, if I don’t do that I’m not even gonna get out there.”

Taurasi made her annual ‘homecoming’ with the Phoenix Mercury to face the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena on Tuesday, but she could retire tomorrow as a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer. She is a three-time WNBA champion with two Finals MVP awards, a 10-time All-Star and a 14-time All-WNBA selection. Five games into her 20th season, Taurasi is the only 10,000 point-scorer in WNBA history and holds career records for made field goals and 3-pointers. The 41-year-old also leads the league in made threes this year with 19 averaging 19 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

“That’s the GOAT, and she’s still showing it,” said Sun star DeWanna Bonner, who played for the Mercury from 2009-19. “She kind of set the bar for me. We won my first year, and we won a lot because of her. You see what’s needed to stay in this league, so I was lucky my first year to kind of have the blueprint of her to follow. I’m still here 15 years later and still playing, so it was such a blessing to go through that team and be under that player. I don’t take that for granted, and I don’t take our friendship and her knowledge and everything she’s given to me for granted at all.”