← No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
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- [00:00]
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- [04:39]
Ben Pickman
For the Athletic I'm Ben Pickman and this is the Athletic Women's Basketball Show. Oh well, it finally happened. There was no drawn out retirement tour, no gifts, no tribute videos in every arena or anything of that sort. Instead, on Tuesday afternoon at around 5pm Eastern time, Diana Taurasi officially retired from the WNBA, closing the book on her legendary career. She is perhaps the goat and we'll talk about that and various other aspects and stories from her illustrious career in college and with the Phoenix Mercury throughout this podcast. But as I said, Ben Pickman here, joined by Chantelle Jennings for a special emergency podcast with the news that everyone had been waiting for, wondering really if and when it was going to occur. So Chantel, I'm just going to start this episode with by reading out some of the points from Diana Taurasi's legacy 20 seasons after being the number one pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft, 11 All Star Game appearances, two WNBA Finals MVPs, six Olympic gold medals, three WNBA Championships. She was voted in 2021 as the GOAT, the greatest of all time by fans, five time scoring champion, the all time points record holder, just over 10,000. The Mercury, this might be my favorite here, said she had 122 technical fouls and all that doesn't even include her Euroleague titles, what she's done overseas and her college Resume, which includes three NCAA championships at UConn, two Naismith Player of the Years and a tournament most Outstanding player. So we're going to talk to Rossi Legacy, our favorite stories and a little bit of what's next for the Phoenix Mercury. But let's start as broad as we can. Chantel, where were you when you learned that Diana Taurasi was retiring? And what was your instant reaction?
- [06:42]
Chantelle Jennings
You know, there's a podcast we did at some point where I said, Diana's going to retire exactly how Tara van der Veer did, which was, I'll give Diana this. Tara retired and put her press release out as I was getting into bed and I had to get out of bed to then go downstairs and work on a column. At least Diana retired at the end of the workday. So, you know, slightly better in that regard. But I think this is how we all assumed it was going to happen. So I was, you know, just at home and we were all we saw that there was an announcement that she was going to be on the View the next morning and you and Sabrina and I are texting. And I thought to myself, of course, like, you know, of course this is it. Although I did wonder, you know, it surprised me that her retirement interview wouldn't go to Robin Roberts, who is someone that we've tended to know go A lot of the Wasserman clients do big interviews with Robin Roberts. So I thought that would make a little more sense. But also it's Diana. So, like doing something a little unexpected works. And like a Tuesday at the end of February, at the end of the work day with a press release like, this is kind of exactly how we all thought it would happen. And is it surprising? No, I don't think so because it's like, I think all of us sort of felt that way. Like, and she said this was how it was going to be. She was never going to do a tour. It was going to be like when she knew, she knew and then she was done. So, yeah, that was, that was me. Where were you?
- [08:06]
Ben Pickman
I mean, I was Also at home again. And I think I had flagged to you that tweet that the View put out that she was going to be on the show tomorrow. And I had started to just text it to other people around the league, too, to be like, do we think this is going to be like the retirement announcement? Or is there a book or a documentary? Or is she just like, going on the View because she can, and she's just creating a little bit of a stir because she wants to. And it's Diana Taurasi. And so you never really know the answer. And just before the announcement kind of was made public, I was on the phone with someone else from another WNBA team and I flagged the tweet to them over the phone and they were like, that sounds like it could be a retirement booking to me. And sure enough, when Diana retires, I was kind of joking with that person that like, well, you were right. And I got that text from a lot of people like, well, here's. It turned out to be a retirement announcement. So, you know, I think that was how I learned of it. I read the Time magazine article by Sean Gregory which details a little bit of why she is retiring. And that gets into it. And we'll talk about that some, too. But I think the reaction is the same. It is wanting to kind of celebrate and talk about the legacy of her career, but knowing that, like this, all in all wasn't that big of a surprise. So with that being said, let's talk a little bit about Diana Taurasi's legacy. And I threw out, you know, some of the points from her resume, the, again, illustrious first ballot, no doubt, hall of Fame career. She'll get her jersey retired in every arena in which she has played, if it's not already there, there is a goat conversation, you know, the greatest of all time. I think there's a time and place for it. You know, Gino or Yama described her in some of his comments today as the greatest winner of all time. But I guess, big picture, let's take the issue the greatest player ever conversation, and let's put it to the side a little bit. Just what do you think her legacy will be overall in the sport of women's basketball?
- [09:53]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, I think one of the few things that you are, you know, she has many accolades, but one of the obvious ones that you didn't mention and sort of that rundown is that she's like the most quotable player of all time. Like when she was behind a mic, you never knew what she was gonna say or when you were interviewing her, you never knew what she was gonna say. She has such a quick wit, and she can just, like, turn a phrase so quickly. Like, she. Everyone has seen her on the, you know, the ESPN Final Four broadcasts. Like, she would. She would be both entertaining as, you know, in that role. Super entertaining. As a fan, if you're an executive producer on one of those shows, just, like, fucking terrifying. Like, you have no what she's gonna say. You probably have to, like, just understand that, especially if South Carolina is playing, exactly where that conversation is gonna go. But, yeah, I think for me, like, I want to take a step back and, like, obviously, we're both in this profession because we love telling. Telling stories, and that's what sports writing is. But, like, you know, women's basketball, for me, so much of, like, who. Who I think of when I think of women's basketball growing up is Diana Taurasi. Like, she first. A lot of people who are probably my age, like, she really personified women's basketball in the 2000s. Like, and it's. It's just so wild because, you know, to sort of grow up at a time where so many girls, especially, are told to, like, be docile and don't. Don't brag and don't be cocky and be humble and, you know, sort of the first women's basketball player that I ever really saw and idolized was Diana. And she's got a coach who goes out there and says, like, we're gonna win because we have Diana, and they don't. And it's like, man, to have someone feel that amount of confidence in you and your skill because of something you've. You've worked at and learned how to do, like, that was really inspiring, I think, for. For a large generation of kids, not just girls. And just sort of how she played the game with. With a tremendous amount of swagger and just, like, fearlessness. It's a beautiful way to play basketball. It's a beautiful way to live your life. And I think it's kind of how she's done that as well, which is wonderful, but, like, just how she's played the game. Fearless, brash, swagger. The technicals you mentioned. I'm kind of shocked it's that low. Like, it's. It's maybe lower than I thought, but I think we just, you know, think of, like, the I'll see you in the lobby moments. But, yeah, I mean, I think it's like you said, this is not surprising, but also sort of surreal that we're actually having this conversation right now and.
- [12:29]
Ben Pickman
We should say, chantel, you have your hair up in a bun right now. Perhaps that's an homage to Diana Taurasi, another staple that I think will forever be part of her legacy. But there's so much there that, you know, I'm glad you mapped out. I mean, let's do the quotable stuff first. And the Phoenix Mercury, you know, their social media team are starting to do a really good job of honoring Taurasi and showing the different aspects of her legacy. And they shared a really great slideshow of just some of her best quotes. I just want to read to one of them from that Bird and Taurasi show. And the quote is, I mean, think about these kids. They're working with personal trainers in college. I was pounding beers and cheeseburgers in college. Like, that's Diana Taurasi's humor to a T. Another quote from that show, she was talking about, you know, Sue Bird's retirement and what was going to be potentially her last game, but wasn't. Tarasi said, I'm so mad, I thought I had the last super jersey she played in. Now I'll wash the car with it. Now it's my car rag. Like, that's Diana Taurasi to a tee. Just bringing humor and levity to so many situations, but then to the player. And you touched on this too, like the swagger, the confidence, the brashness, the, you know, the aura that she, she plays with. Like, Diana Taurasi knew time and time again how to summon her best when her team needed her best. Like the first WNBA Finals I covered in person was the 2021 Finals. That was Phoenix against Chicago. And you know, I think back to, I think it was game two of that series after her team had lost game one. And Diana Taurasi, you know, had not played her best game leading into crunch time of that game. At one point, I think she tripped over herself. She got a steal, tripped over herself and turned it over. And she joked after that, like, you know, that's her life in a lot of ways, tripping over her feet. But in the overtime period of that game, Diana Taurasi scores eight points. She has a four point play at one point. And the Chicago sky, their opponent, scored just seven. And Phoenix won that game to level the series. Like that was Diana Taurasi playing her best so often when her team needed it, just that confidence. But at the same time, like having a humor like again the next. I think the next night in that series or the next game, rather, was Game three, and Phoenix was really, really bad. I think they scored 50 points overall. And Tarasu, who once had scored 47 in her herself in a single game, she joked about, like, you know, what people can expect going forward in game four. And she says, we'll be better than 50. Like, go to Vegas with that one. Like, that's Diana Taurasi. Even after a blowout, you know, bringing humor, bringing levity, bringing this confidence, knowing what to say, like, making people smile. Those are some of the things that I think about when I think about Tarasi, you know, all told.
- [15:04]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, and that's the series, if we all remember the infamous door, right? Like, and that's. That's the other thing that I think of with Diana is she's the ultimate competitor. Like, you know, we always hear these stories, and people will tell them all the time. Like, oh, I'm so competitive. Like, my family and I get in fights over, like, when we play Go Fish, and it's like, yeah, yeah, we've all heard it before. But it's like, Diana Taurasi is truly, like, the ultimate competitor in every sense of the word. Like, I thought when you were going through, you said that first quote that you mentioned from the Phoenix Mercury Twitter, the quote I thought you were gonna say from the Bird and Taurasi and Megan Rapinoe show that they did during the pandemic was when she was talking about rookies. I looked up this quote because it's just so perfect. And Diana says every time you played rookies, you just want to fucking kill them. It's just physically punking them. It's mentally. It's the mental bullying that takes place right before the ball goes up. It happens in different ways. It happens in, like, oh, you had such a great senior year. I'm about to bust your ass right now. And just, like, those moments of, like, she says it out loud that, you know, these are the things that all the vets are thinking, but, you know, they're not going to say it. And it's like, well, of course Diana will.
- [16:14]
Ben Pickman
Well, and then what it leads to is so many players, and we've started to see those tributes today, and there's a lot of stories like this out there, and we've reported on some of them as well. Like, have these amazing vignettes of Tarasi. Like, one of them we did at the Athletic, I think it was two years ago when Diana Taurosi was about to score her 10,000th point, was like, 10 stories of 10 different aspects of Diana Taurosi. And one of them focused on the rookies and just going off Kelsey Plum in a random game. July 2017, her rookie season. You know, Tarasi finishes this game with 17 points. She's going up against Kelsey Plum. And Plum has one of these moments she'll never forget. And she told us at the Athletic that there was this out of bounds play and Diana Taurasi was talking to her. And Taurasi goes quote, hey, Plummy, good to see you. And then Taurasi elbows Plum in the stomach. Plum says, and I kind of like dropped and she came off a pin down, hit a shot, and then winked at me. Plum goes. And I was just like, what the hell just happened? Like, that is Diana Taurasi to a T. There's so many stories like that that, you know, I really recommend people go back and read. And I'll plug some of these stories at the end of this podcast. Just check them out. You'll smile, you'll laugh, just as Chantelle did there, just as I have in pulling it up as we prepare for this show. But Chantelle, you mentioned some of the stories, you know, we talk about the wnba and we started to talk about some of these WNBA stories, the college stories. You know, I mentioned the cheeseburgers and beer in college. Like, that's obviously a funny anecdote, but you also had such a unique perspective, especially covering Diana Taurasi's last Olympics this year in Paris. I guess in person, as you covered the Olympics, just what sticks out to you about that experience, that part of her legacy? And what can you share that, you know, we, who might not have been to an Olympics, you know, might not have seen Diana Taurasi in that setting.
- [17:58]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I think she's sort of putting her on the mountaintop of all these different things right now, but like the ultimate competitor, the ultimate trash talk, the ultimate, all these things. But, you know, I also think the thing that she sort of personifies in that Kelsey Plumb story is like a great example of it is like she's the person that you absolutely want on your team and you don't want to play against. Right. And that's what I felt the most at the Olympics, you know, and I think her, her inclusion on the roster was greatly debated by a lot of people. I. I understood it because in that situation, what you need is someone who's been there, someone who's not fazed by anything, someone who's, especially as the rest of the world, is catching up to the US and women's basketball. Like, you know, I. There was a timeout late in that gold medal game with France, and Diana hadn't played, was sitting at the end of the bench. And it's this, like, really tense moment. And you can sort of see, like, Team USA is trying to figure out what to do, where to go from here. And Diana's, like, dancing, and it's not like a distraction. It's not like a. Everyone look at me and laugh. It's just like a. Guys, stay loose. Like, this is basketball. We've. We've done this. We've been here. We're good. Like, to me, it was like she brought whatever the team needed, whether it was scoring. And that doesn't mean she won all the time, but I think the team she was on, she made better, and the players she played with, she made better. And I think that's probably the best compliment that anyone is going to pay her. Probably that she'll think of as the best compliment, because I think that's probably what she wants to think of, she said, through her entire career. Because, you know, people have been asking her forever, like, when are you going to retire? When are you going to retire? You're getting so old, type of a thing. And, you know, she always said, when I can't give to the game what it deserves, like, that's when I'll know it's time to step away. And that's part of her reason now, obviously. And I think it's just like, she truly loves the game. She loves being a teammate. And I think in those moments when she was with the team, you really saw it. And I think her teammates. That is sort of what, you know, that. That fearlessness that she would bring to a team, that it was like, we're not scared of anyone. Like, we're fine. We've been here before. Like, I've won a million gold medals. This is just another basketball game. Like, let's go out there and play. Like, just that calmness, you know, And I think that levity in the most serious of moments, she could sort of look around the group and be like, guys, it's two hoops and a ball. Let's just go out there.
- [20:06]
Ben Pickman
I like that you've used the phrase what she brings to the game. Because in rereading some of these Diana Taurasi anecdotes, you have one from a story you wrote this summer that Sue Bird relayed to you of Diana Taurasi, I think, at her First Olympics in 2004. Yeah. Do you want to tell that Story.
- [20:22]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, it was their Rookie Olympics in 04 in Athens, and they were staying on a boat, the St. Mary, if I remember it cor correctly. And this is an Olympics that Diana and sue weren't playing a lot at. And I forget who the rookies were on the guys team that year, but they. I don't know if it's in that story or not, but they've talked a lot about the. The dance club that they went to a lot on that boat. But this was not what that story was about. This was about the first game that they ever played in. In the Olympics. And sue and Diana show up to the game, and Diana looks at sue and goes, shit, I have two left shoes. And she was like, what are you gonna do? And I think she warmed up in. She warmed up in, like, trainers. She didn't even warm up in basketball shoes, just, like, training shoes. And someone had to go back to the boat and get a pair of, you know, I guess one. One of her right shoes so that she could play. But just also. Just this. I mean, I don't think that's probably the story that best personifies her, but it's also. I think it's every story you hear about Diana. It's like, of course this is Diana because, like, of course this is who she is and sort of the situations she finds herself in. I think another story that I've thought about a lot recently, or I guess since she recently in the last two hours, you know, she and Gino Auriemma have such a close relationship, and she spoke at his. At the game earlier this season when he became the winningest coach of all time. And Gino is obviously. I think that was the speech that got to him the most. You could kind of tell he was really affected by it. And afterwards he was asked about it. He said, you know, just, they have a really, really special relationship. And so her words specifically meant a lot to him. And today, actually, Spoiler alert. Later in the week, we'll be interviewing Shea Ralph and Mikayla Blakes. On this show. I actually informed Shea Ralph, who is a former teammate at UConn of Diana Taurasi's, that Diana had retired. And I asked if she had any great stories, and she told a few. But I'll give a little spoiler here that she said, you know, Diana was the one player who could always talk back to Genoa and, like, not get in trouble for it. And she said, you know, it was like two Italians and they could just go at it and it was fine. And I was thinking about how Gino had told me a story once about how, you know, he sort of saw that fire and that confidence and that competitiveness in her as such a good value for his team. Like, he needed someone on the team who could sort of say to him what everyone wanted to say. And I think it shows sort of why he's a good coach. That, like, you know, you don't want all 14 of your players to be talking back to you, but if you can sort of have one player that's talking back and saying the thing that everyone wants to say, like, there can be sort of this, like, outlet, I guess, as a team. But he had told me a story at one point that I forget what year it was for her. But, you know, he, like, screams at her about something and totally chews her out and turns around and Diana flips him off. And as he's walking away, and she. I don't know if it was the double bird or just one, like, whatever, but she flips him off as he's walking back to the sideline. And he sees it in the reflection of something. Like, he sees her doing this. And he walked slower so that she could flip him off longer. And he turns around, and the whole coaching staff is like, are you gonna make her do something for her? And he doesn't acknowledge it. Cause he's like, this is. Like, he was. You know, he. I believe the quote was something to me, I could go back and find it. But he was like, I love that. I love that she did that. Like, our team needed that. Like, our team needed someone who was gonna just sort of, like, try to put him in his place. And, like, that was Diana. And so, you know, just that fire. Like, I realize we're just sort of, like, going over stories, but I feel like that's also sort of like, Diana's such a great storyteller. It sort of feels like the most apt way to remember her career.
- [24:01]
Ben Pickman
Right? Exactly. And if you gotta think about, like, you know, 20 years after you relay that story, like, Gino just on our podcast last week when he was telling a story about, you know, Diana Tirasina in the transfer portal, that, like, you know, in this era of nil and the transfer portal, she would have put herself in the portal to, you know, play for the highest bidder every single year. And, like, that's him putting her in her place, too, right? Like, throwing those. Those jabs at her 20 years later. And he does that seemingly at all times. But one of the things that just kind of Struck me. And you know, I would recommend reading the Time magazine story in which Diana talks a little bit about just like reflects on her career, but she really doesn't get into at length, like why she is retiring. And I think that is also so kind of quintessential Diana Taurasi that it is pretty brief in what she says. And yet the themes about why she is retiring are very universal so often for so many high level athletes, right? She says that like this New Year's Day, it just kind of hit her differently, that quote, like, I just didn't have it in me. And that it was then that she knew it was time to walk away. That mentally and physically she says, I'm just full. I'm full and I'm happy. Like pretty simple, pretty to the point and pretty universal that like in an off season she comes to this realization that, you know, Diana Taurosi could probably go out there today, tomorrow, this season and get you 15, 20, 25 points. But she had felt fulfilled and seemingly like, you know, that epiphany on a New Year's Day, what it says to me is like, you know, we're practices as fun, we're the off season grind. She's getting ready to train, right, and gear up for another season. We know how diligent and detailed she is about that. You know, did some of that kind of joy and, and the pleasure from that kind of go away and did that lead to her experience? Because those are some really universal things for high level athletes when they walk away. And you know, Diana, as she reflected on her own legacy, one of the things she really talked about was it's not for me to judge, right? Like she's like, I put out my resume, I did what I can do, and I'm going to leave it up to all the pundits, all the people like us, Chantel, all the storytellers, all the, the fans for generations to just debate where she stands legacy, to retell all these stories. Like, she seemed really at peace with where she was. And I think, you know, that is another form. It's a different form, another form of confidence that she has after amassing the career and living the life that she has up to this point.
- [26:27]
Chantelle Jennings
Well. And like, just from a human perspective, you know, she and her wife Penny have two young kids and playing, you know, a WNBA season through the summer, like, you miss a lot of moments with your family, especially when it's, you have kids who are in school during school year and in the summer they're off and you know, you think about Diana Taurasi as a mom and her two kids that she more than, you know, she's more than earned a retirement, whatever it looks like for her over the next, you know, I'm sure she'll, she'll find herself in something soon, whatever it is. Like, I don't think she's going to sit idle for that long.
- [27:03]
Ben Pickman
But yeah, I think for our section, I hope we see her on a Bird Taurasi show.
- [27:07]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, I think that's a given. I think that is a given. That feels like she and she and sue have so much fun with that, that it's like, you know, and like heaven help us when Gino eventually retires and it's the three of them doing the like ESPN, like competing commentary because just the three of those of those people, it's gonna be a must see TV for sure. But yeah, I think just you think about who she is as a person and yeah, I think it's just she's, she's more than earned this. Like her family is young and as a parent of a young kid, like, I can totally understand her sort of looking at her life at this moment in time and sort of thinking about where she wants to be and spending her time and. Yeah, makes sense.
- [27:50]
Ben Pickman
And she said simply, like, I want to take my kids to school and I want to be home when they return. Like, it's kind of as simple as that. When she thinks about what's next for her, like, those are the little things that I think she is really looking forward to in retirement. I guess before we close it out, let's just share maybe one or two more Terrasi stories. In rereading some of them, Nikki Blue told the story who was a former Phoenix Mercury interim coach, I guess two years ago now, I think is with the sparks. She told the story that Diana Taurasi was actually the person who gave her a tour when she was touring UConn back in the early 2000s and then showed her a good time, hosted her that night. And then, you know, almost 20 years later, Nikki Blue was the interim head coach for Diana Taurasi. Like you think about kind of longevity and legacy like Diana, you know, she had lived so many lives in the wnba, so many players had come and gone. It all leads to this not being a surprise. And Nikki Blue had actually said for that story that like she hopes in a practice when she was coaching Diana Taurosi to just get in one good defensive stance per practice, you know, and she's watching Diana Taurasi again, go out there and have not just get in defensive stance, not just run through offensive sets, but play game after game after game. There's just so many little vignettes to talk about her legacy, her impact, the humor again, she really is a one of one. Like that is a cliche, but it's hard to imagine there will ever be another WNBA player athlete, maybe even like Diana Taurasi.
- [29:24]
Chantelle Jennings
Well, and to just play as long as she did. And I think this is sort of the, the era of athletes. You know, I think we will continue to see athlet have 20 year careers, but I think she and sue being sort of on the cutting edge of this and extending their careers in this way and the changes they've had to make. Diana went vegan a few years ago and she's talked a lot about the changes she had to make in the amount of prehab and recovery she's had to do. It's not like she just runs out there and works out. It's like she has to do as much sort of working out ahead of practice as is practice. And so I think that's another. The commitment to the game that we've sort of seen that. And I think several other athletes, you know, hopefully for all of our sakes will continue to have those long careers because there's so many people that are so fun to watch right now that I hope they do play for 20 years, but they will forever be sort of the first group that did that. We're entering a time now where it's like the fact that there will be players drafted into the WNBA now who think like, how could you have grown up without a wnba? Like it's always been there, it's always been a part of their life. But that was obviously not the truth for a player like Diana. And so I think sort of there will be hopefully other players and as the season gets longer, you know, more players who score as many points or sort of break the records that she's broken. But she will forever be one of the first to have done what she did. And I think that makes her extremely special.
- [30:45]
Ben Pickman
Well, and just think like the WNBA was less than 10 years old when she entered it in 2004. Like she enters in an era in which a lot of franchises went on to fold. Right. A lot of the original franchises and the initial ownership groups, you know, folded their franchise, gave up their teams because that was the state of the wnba and she kind of played it, you know, so long, 20 years to now be at this time where the WNBA is seeing, you know, rises and increases and records like it's never set before. It's in this explosive period of growth. And Diana Taurasi, you know, is kind of walking out the door as it is at its high point currently. And it's amazing to think like they're now expanding again right after contracting at the early part of her career. Like that is another way to mark her legacy overall.
- [31:31]
Chantelle Jennings
I mean, on that note, and it was funny that you mentioned what Gino said about her being someone who would have played at four schools in four years and like put herself out to the highest bidder every year, because I was like, she's played her whole w career in one city. Like she's had the opportunity to go to the highest bidder in some years and she's. She's stuck it out with Phoenix. You know, I think additionally, like when we saw BG sign with Atlanta, that specifically to me was like, yeah, you know, Diana's announcement is coming before long. What is next for Phoenix? What can we expect from that team this year? Obviously there's been a lot of change. There's a new ish coach and new faces there. But I think obviously having Diana not on the team, like, that's going to be a huge change.
- [32:10]
Ben Pickman
Yeah, I mean, it definitely is a huge change. And the timing is kind of funny because earlier on Tuesday, the Phoenix Mercury actually announced and hosted their press conference for Alyssa Thomas at their practice facility which has Diana Taurasi. Like it's the Diana Taurasi practice courts and it has her logos on it. Like it's basically a facility she helped build and provided some creative ideas for. And so it was the same day. And you talk about overshadowing our press conference. Obviously Diana Taurasi's retirement announcement overshadows that. But I think the Phoenix Mercury, like they are about as prepared as any franchise can be for when an all time great walks away. Right. They have really been thinking about this succession plan, it seems like for two years since Nick, you Ren, the general manager of that franchise, took over and entered, you know, the front office there. You got to think last off season they traded for Kalia Copper. Ironically, of course, Copper was the Finals MVP in 2021 for the Chicago sky as they beat the Phoenix Mercury. And Nick, you know, when he made that trade, people said, okay, maybe that's the way that they're going to try and, you know, squeeze every bit out that they can of this Taurasi era. And he kind of insisted. And I have this quote in A story that's going up on the athletic that no like to me that's also a move for the future as much as it is a win now move. And so you have Kalia Copper, a four time WNBA all star, one of the best slashers, best wings in the game. And then this off season they've been wheeling and dealing as you said. They added Alyssa Thomas who's a perennial MVP candidate. They traded for Satu Sabley as well who you know a first team all WNBA 42 from the Dallas Wings can be one of the best players in the league when healthy. They have this incredible facility that you know, when I was down at unrivaled player after player after player. Really think about that facility as the standard in the league right now. Just because of the amenities, because the space, just because of how clean it is, how nice it is, what's provided to them. So you know the Phoenix Mercury are very well positioned and they have this trio of stars who is seems pretty ready to take the reins. Right. And in the introductory press conference of Thomas and in it of Sabali a few weeks earlier, like there really wasn't or there was not Taurasi talk. There wasn't even wondering about it. Like it seemed like it was a matter of when again and not if this was going to happen. And so Phoenix seems really, really well prepared for the next step. And of course it's going to be interesting that you know, it seems like inevitable that we're going to get a Taurasi retirement ceremony jersey retirement ceremony this summer. But you know, Phoenix is well positioned to try and get back in the title conversation, the upper echelon of the WNBA even without an all time great playing for them.
- [34:51]
Chantelle Jennings
Yeah, I think it's, it's going to be weird to not have her in the league. It's just, you know, it's going to be weird.
- [34:58]
Ben Pickman
It's definitely going to be pretty weird. But I hope for our sakes, I guess that Diana Taurasi makes at least occasional appearances. Whether they are at Jersey retirement ceremonies where we get all these speeches, whether it's on the Sue Bird and Diana Tarasi show. Yeah. What comes to mind for you, Shanta? I see you chop it at the bit.
- [35:14]
Chantelle Jennings
I assume she's gonna be sitting courtside at like every game to just heckle. Like she's gonna be like the first time everyone comes through town into Phoenix. Like she's gonna be sitting there just like heckling the out of every like KP's gonna hear it no matter what Like, Asia's gonna hear it. Like, Stewie's gonna hear it. Like, everyone is just gonna get their best from Diana and she's not gonna have to be expending energy to score points. Like, all she's gonna have to be focused on is talking shit from the sideline. And she'll also probably be able to have a beer there. And so it's like, I'm, I'm sure it'll be again, maybe someone, maybe someone can tag along or sit behind and let us know what, what she's saying.
- [35:53]
Ben Pickman
I'm glad you brought that up. And maybe it's bad podcasting by me. We should have mentioned in the Best of Diana Taurasi list, maybe the best trash talker the WNBA has ever seen. Like, it seems like player after player after player refer to her as the best trash talker. But there's so many stories like that that we could have told that people will retell over the years. I would recommend people reading a story that we have on the Athletic 10 tales of facing Diana Taurasi as she nears 10,000 point. Chantel, you wrote this great story this summer, one last Olympic hurrah to cap a one of a kind career. That is stories of Diana Taurasi as an Olympic rookie. There are so many pieces out there. Again, we don't want these to be like obituaries, but they're just stories that I think you will read and you will find anecdotes that make you smile, that make you laugh, that make you appreciate her career. But for now, I guess let's close the book on this episode too, just as she has closed the book on her career. Chantel, if that is okay with you. As you mentioned, we'll be back Friday with a regular episode featuring Vanderbilt star Michaela Blakes and coach Shane Ralph, who I'm excited to hear some of those Diana Taurasi stories. So, Chantelle, hopefully you can go, you know, have a beer and cheeseburger like Diana Taurasi, go talk a little trash, blow off some steam, much like she would when going up against opponents. Chantel, thank you for joining. Glad we could reminisce a little bit about Diana Taurasi's career. I'm Ben Pickman and we will talk to you later this week with another episode of the Athletic Women's Basketball Show.
- [37:22]
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Ben Pickman
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Kim Holderness
Hey guys, we have an exciting announcement about our podcast.
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Penn Holderness
For the past seven years, the Holderness Family Podcast has been the most favorite thing we do.
- [38:56]
Kim Holderness
We love getting to talk to experts. We love having meaningful conversations just the two of us. And we also love hearing from you.
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Penn Holderness
But the thing we love most is being a place where you can laugh.
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Kim Holderness
A lot has changed in the last seven years and we feel very lucky that our audience is growing older with us.
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Penn Holderness
So in the spirit of that, we are relaunching our podcast. We are excited to introduce Laugh Lines with Kim and Penn Holderness.
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Kim Holderness
The Laugh Lines podcast will be all about aging together better and also being able to laugh about getting older.
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Penn Holderness
We hope you'll join us. Search Laugh Lines with Kim and Pen Holderness New episodes every Tuesday.
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Ben Pickman
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