WNBA’s all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi re-signs with Mercury on multi-year deal

The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer is sticking with the team that drafted her first overall in 2004.

Diana Taurasi has re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury, agreeing to a multiyear contract, the team announced Saturday. Meanwhile, ESPN is reporting that her longtime teammate, Brittney Griner, is returning on a one-year deal, as expected. 

‘Diana Taurasi belongs in a Mercury uniform, and we are grateful for the continued faith she demonstrates in our organization by returning year after year,’ Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said. 

‘The way she prepares her body, how much she cares about winning, and how much she cares about our franchise — on and off the court — are just a few of the things that make her a transcendent athlete and quite literally the greatest of all time. We look forward to more accolades, more historic moments, and more wins.’

By signing a multiyear contract it keeps the door open for Taurasi to play in the 2024 Olympics. Taurasi told The Associated Press earlier this month while participating in a USA Basketball training camp that she had her eyes on the Paris Games, which she’d be 42 years old at.

‘I’m still competitive, still driven, still want to play, I still love being a part of USA Basketball,’ she said. ‘If the opportunity comes to play and be a part of it, it’s something I’ve always taken a lot of pride in. When you get to my age at this point in my career, you just try to win every day. Right now this is a good opportunity to be part of this team moving forward we’ll see what happens.’

If she were to play in those Olympics she could potentially win a sixth gold medal, breaking a tie with former US teammate Sue Bird for most all-time in the sport.

The 40-year-old Taurasi has won three WNBA titles in Phoenix and been honored as the league’s MVP in 2009. She’s averaged 16.2 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds in her career. Last season she was averaging 23.2 points after the All-Star break before having her season cut short by a quad injury.

She holds the franchise record in 16 categories and with 9,693 points in her career should go over the 10,000-point mark next season if she stays healthy.

Taurasi was an unrestricted free agent, but it was expected that she’d go back to Phoenix. The Mercury still need to re-sign Brittney Griner, who is also a free agent. The 6-foot-9 center announced in December when she returned home from her 10-month ordeal in Russia that she planned to remain with Phoenix and play with the Mercury.

Taurasi’s decision comes as two former WNBA MVPs have joined the New York Liberty: Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones.

After spending six seasons with the Seattle Storm, Stewart announced February 1 on Twitter that she’d be moving to Brooklyn to be with the Liberty – who enter this WNBA season as one of the favorites for the title.

The Syracuse-native returned to New York after winning two WNBA titles with the Storm and clinching the MVP award in 2018.

She makes the move to the Liberty – who made a splash earlier this month by acquiring Jones from the Connecticut Sun.

Jones and Stewart join a team already dominated by the play of star point guard Sabrina Ionescu as the second favorites to win the WNBA title behind last season’s champion: the Las Vegas Aces.