Diana Taurasi reaches 10,000 points: WNBA’s all-time leading scorer hits milestone for Mercury

Diana Taurasi is already the WNBA’s all-time main scorer, and now she’s reached a brand new milestone: 10,000 profession factors. She did so in emphatic vogue with an unbelievable 42-point efficiency within the Phoenix Mercury’s 91-71 win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night time. 

Taurasi solely wanted 18 factors to make historical past, and she or he acquired there within the third quarter with a deep 3-pointer — a becoming method to go about it, contemplating she’s additionally the league’s all-time chief in made 3-pointers. 

Careening off a display screen, Taurasi took a cross from Moriah Jefferson and fired a fast triple that caught nothing however internet. She raised her arms in celebration and was quickly joined by her teammates, who rushed off the bench as the gang contained in the Footprint Middle erupted. 

There was a quick in-game ceremony, throughout which Taurasi was introduced with the sport ball and took a couple of pictures, however the true celebration happened after the sport. The Mercury performed a tribute video on the jumbotron after which had a ceremony at middle courtroom that featured items and messages from fellow basketball luminaries akin to Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Magic Johnson, Steve Nash and Daybreak Staley. 

Lastly, it was Taurasi’s flip to take the mic. 

“Moments like this, that you just share with an entire metropolis, with teammates that I have been teammates with for years — some for days — and to see simply how a lot everybody enjoys it, makes me really feel actually, actually good,” Taurasi stated. “I am grateful that I’ve gotten this chance to do that in entrance of you guys for 19 years, and I am actually, actually grateful for the sport of basketball. It is what I like, it is my ardour, it makes me really feel good each single day.” 

Along with her 42 factors, Taurasi turned the league’s all-time chief in 40-point video games with 4. This was her first 40-point outing since 2010, and the third-highest scoring recreation of her profession. She additionally turned the oldest participant in league historical past to drop 40 factors, and joined Michael Jordan as the one participant in NBA or WNBA historical past to take action after turning 40 years previous. 

Taurasi is the primary participant in WNBA historical past to attain 10,000 profession factors, a mark that will not be matched for a very long time, if ever. She turned the all-time scoring champion in 2017 when she handed Tina Thompson, and has been constructing her lead in that class ever since. 

This is a have a look at the WNBA’s all-time scoring record (lively gamers in daring):

In her prime, Taurasi was probably the most unstoppable scorer the league has ever seen. Her 25.3 factors per recreation in 2006 are the highest-scoring single season in league historical past, and she or he’s averaged greater than 20 factors per recreation seven occasions in her profession, which is greater than some other participant.

Now 41, Taurasi is now not the dominant offensive power she as soon as was, however coming into Thursday she nonetheless checked in at nineteenth within the league this season with 16.1 factors per recreation.