Diana Taurasi Becomes WNBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer

The countdown is officially over! Tonight, three-time WNBA Champion, four-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time WNBA scoring champion, Diana Taurasi, became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer inside the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Sparks.  Playing in her 377th career game, all with the Mercury, Taurasi surpassed Tina Thompson’s previous mark (7,488 points), which was set in 496 career games.

Said former record-holder Thompson: “Congratulations to Diana on becoming the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer.  I am excited that it is Diana and it is my absolute pleasure to pass the torch on to her. She and I have shared so many amazing moments throughout our basketball careers, whether it was gold medals, championships or All-Star Games. Diana is one of the best players to ever play the game and definitely one of my favorites. She has done amazing things and I am so grateful that I’ve been able to share many of those with her.  I am really excited for Diana and I think she is going to blow that record out of the water.”

    In recognition of Taurasi’s historic accomplishment tonight, the Mercury’s next home game on June 30 vs. Minnesota will be Taurasi Night brought to you by State Farm.  It will be a game-long celebration of the new all-time leading scorer, featuring special video messages, a banner unveiling, and a one-of-a-kind commemorative Taurasi bobblehead, courtesy of State Farm, for the first 5,000 fans.

Said Phoenix Suns and Mercury Managing Partner Robert Sarver: “Diana is everything you would want in a basketball player, and the kind of player who not only defines a franchise but an entire league for a generation.  Her first year in 2004 was my first year with the team.  She has played her entire 13-year career with our franchise and now she is the greatest scorer in the history of the WNBA.  We could not be more proud of what she has done for the game, our franchise, and the city.”

Taurasi’s basket to move her past Thompson came with 45.3 seconds remaining in the 2nd-quarter after converting right-handed layup.

Regarded as perhaps the greatest women’s basketball player of all time, Taurasi has been one of the league’s premier scorers in her 13 seasons.  Now the record-holder for career p​oints, she already owns the top two single-season scoring marks in league history (2006, 2008), the league record for 20-point and 30-point games, and has led the league in scoring a WNBA-record five times (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).  Taurasi, who celebrated her 35th birthday on June 11, owns the third-highest career scoring average in league history, and currently ranks seventh in the league in scoring at 18.2 points in 2017, her highest scoring average since 2013 (20.3).

Taurasi’s first media availability in Phoenix will take place following practice on Wednesday, June 21 at approximately 1:15 p.m. PST.

History has been made! Diana Taurasi is the new all-time leading scorer in WNBA history!  Tickets for Taurasi Night brought to you by State Farm on Friday, June 30, and the remaining 10 regular-season Mercury home games, can be purchased by calling 602.252.WNBA or by visiting PhoenixMercury.com.