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Why Diana Taurasi's Career is Unforgettable

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Diana Taurasi's retirement marks the end of an era in the WNBA. We reflect on her incredible journey as one of the greatest players of all time while sharing memorable moments from her career. The legacy she leaves behind will continue to inspire future generations of athletes.

• Celebrating Diana Taurasi's career and her impact on the WNBA 
• Highlights from her numerous accolades and records 
• Analysis of her most impactful player pairings 
• Discussion of classic finals matchups featuring Taurasi 
• Reflecting on her life lessons and contributions to the sport 
• Inviting listeners to share their favorite Taurasi memories


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Speaker 1:

What's up everybody. It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, trey, and as usual, I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we got kind of a somber-ish episode to talk about. I ain't gonna lie to y'all, it's not my favorite, but at the same time I am happy because it's been a long time coming right.

Speaker 1:

Diana Taurasi she has retired officially and keep it in mind too, I actually stated this on my show months ago. It's on YouTube actually, by the way, that I expect her to retire, but it's still kind of sad, right? She retired officially February 25th 2025, and she debuted the WNBA May 20th 2004. That's a long time that's 20 seasons in the WNBA, ladies and gentlemen and she's had a lot of notable accolades. For example, in high school she was the top ranked high school prospect for the class of 2004. And from there, gina Oriyama said hey, I'm going to ride your coattails, dt, and we're going to take you to UConn. And from there, uconn won about three titles. Diana Taurasi ended up winning about two tournament MOPs. She won two Naismith College Player of the Year awards and an AP College Player of the Year award. So long story short, she was. She was that girl in high school and college.

Speaker 1:

Now in the WNBA she's a three time champ oh seven, oh nine and 14. Two times finals MVP and MVP Fourteen time all WNBA five-time scoring champ, all-time scoring leader, 11-time All-Star WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2004,. Highest point per game average at 25 points per game from 2006, or at 2006. Keep in mind she got drafted in 2004. Asia broke that 18 years later, so that was a nice little amount of time until her record was broken. Right like diana terossi has put up quite a bit of accomplishments in the wmba. It's a goat conversation worthy career end of day Argue with your mama, Like. When you look at over her 14 active seasons, right like those prime MVP years, she was averaging about five, so she was fifth on average. That's not bad. But there were a lot of good WNBA players along the way, like Amaya Moore, candice Parker, nneka Ogumike. There are plenty of Lisa Leslie. There are plenty of players that could get in her way. You cannot scoff at Diana Taurasi Now.

Speaker 1:

Even though her career was wonderful, she did have some wonderful pairings Can't lie to y'all. And some of my favorite WNBA pairings for Diana Taurasi, number seven I got Sophie Cunningham. This one's kind of a recency thing, but she did play with her for about six seasons, so let's factor that in too. Sophie's also was a solid three-point shooter, but I like the dynamic that those two seem to have. It seems to be like a big sister, little sister sort of-ish kind of relationship. So you know, I love the energy that she had. They were trying to make her to be the next DT energy-wise. I could see that, not say it's game-wise, again energy-wise, but she's number seven for me. Shout-out Sophie. Skylar Diggins wise, but she's number seven for me. Shout out sophie. Uh, skylar diggan smith is my number six, ladies and gentlemen, and believe it or not, she actually played three seasons. Uh, they didn't win any titles, neither did sophie, by the way, but still, skylar was a top 10 mvp candidate each season she played with dt. She was all wmba each season and a two-time All-Star. It was an ugly-ish breakup and I didn't like the pairing ultimately with Skylar and the squad. I don't think it was Skylar and DT. Maybe if they were younger DT meeting I'd be curious to see how that worked out. But that was a solid pairing for me. Ultimately it's on paper, so I did appreciate getting a chance to watch it.

Speaker 1:

Number five Breonna Turner. They didn't win any titles but again played six seasons. Breonna Turner was a deep point candidate All defense, two seasons. I love the pairing of DT and Breonna Turner. Again, dt is known as a scorer she was a good defender too, now, don't get me wrong. But known as as a scorer, she was a good defender too, now, don't get me wrong but known as an elite scorer. And Breonna Turner, paired with her as a defender. I love that pairing offense and defense, yin and yang, got to love it. So that's what puts me at Breonna Turner at number five. And be honest with you, if she won another title, hey, we might be able to slide her up a little higher.

Speaker 1:

But number four for me is, in fact, penny Taylor. She won three NBA titles. Like I said, you got to win a little bit now because it gets a little tricky, but three NBA titles, that's a lot. That's all the titles that DT won. So she was the longest reigning player or teammate for DT, 11 seasons, well, close, well close. But again, that longevity does help out. And the fact that she was third option, dewana Bonner. I'm sorry, penny Taylor, I'm sorry. Yeah, 13, yeah, I was about to say I'm bugging. Yeah, three, 13 years, the longevity piece is the piece for me. The injuries is what derailed her, but she does give me the D fish vibe. So again, 13 years, that's pretty long of a career to run with someone and it shows three titles.

Speaker 1:

Next, as y'all heard and I got a little confused for a second Doana Bonner. She played 11 years and that's why I paused for a second. I was like no, I could have sworn it was somebody longer. But 11 seasons with DT, that's two WNBA titles and again, it's the longevity piece for me. She was the third option most times, so that does help out Her and Penny. I could interchange. Again, penny was the injuries, but Dewana Bonner is a bona fide hooper too. Third option Unfortunately, she might have been able to play the second option. I love her at the third option, though. With DT, though, again, it's a defensive pairing that I love to have. So DeJuan Abana as my third option. That's why she's number three for me.

Speaker 1:

Number two we got to bring up Brittany Griner Now. She won one WNBA title in 12 seasons. So you might be wondering why do I have her higher than DeJuan Abano or Penny Taylor? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I got to say. It's this simple the dominance that she had, like Brittany Griner, was more dominant than DeJuan Abano and Penny Taylor. Again, injury throughout. Penny Taylor and DeJuan Abner is a stud, but like Brittany Griner is a hooper, like she's a like what, come on now. She was averaging 3.4 blocks during the playoffs. Like we're calling you have to call her a transcendent talent. You have to Giving you 15 points, 16 points a game. That ain't bad. I wish they won more titles.

Speaker 1:

I was loving that pairing. Bg and DT seemed like it could have been Shaq and Kobe and keep in mind there is a little mamba mentality going on because she was called the white mamba and that was deemed by Kobe. Just saying but my number one pairing because y'all could be one of BG's number two, damn who's number one. I got to go Cappy Pondexter. They won two titles and this was her second option. All right, so again, the options piece wins it. It was over four years. I get you. So maybe the longevity piece you might want to throw somebody else a little higher, but two titles in three seasons.

Speaker 1:

Ladies and gentlemen, she gets the tip of the cap to me. She gets the tip of the cap for me. So, cappy Pondexter, you are my number one. You're my favorite WNBA pairing with DT that she actually did have. Now, we got to go down the favorite WNBA pairing with DT that she actually did have.

Speaker 1:

Now, we got to go down the favorite WNBA finals matchup, right, I want to talk about, because she won three like we talked about, right. I'm going to just biasly say this 2007 was my favorite year of hers. Okay, 2007 was my favorite year of hers. Okay. Main reason why it does not include my team she did not play my spark, so that's, I'll take that. I'll take that. She ended up sweeping Sue Bird, her best friend, right, that's kind of cool. Then, becky Hammond that's kind of crazy. That is the aces coach right now. That's kind of wild, right.

Speaker 1:

Then she went to game five, which, keep in mind, it was the best of five. First, the best team in the West, which was the Detroit Shock. You've got to love that matchup across the board. But, more importantly, my sparks was not a part of her winning the other two, though the other two, they definitely included it 2009. Yeah, this was the most entertaining finals. I'll say that, right. So, 2009,. They beat Becky Hammond again, right. Then they beat my Sparks. And this is CP's second year, candice Parker's second playoff. That also includes Lisa Leslie, tina Thompson and Noel Quinn, the Storms' current head coach. That's wild.

Speaker 1:

Then you end up beating Tamika Ketchings for the title. It went game five Like that's a bad. Dt versus Tamika is wild. Got to watch that. Extremely entertaining. Those two are phenomenal players, transcendent players, goats of all time. Gotta watch that matchup. That's why I say it's the most entertaining finals matchup 2014,. It was the most impressive. I'll give it to her Because you beat my Sparks again. Dang, you beat the Lynx.

Speaker 1:

That includes Maya moranel, you know, I mean, and they were, they were, they were solid back then. They just didn't have sylvia files, but they had a decent squad, just saying then you sweep the sky. And that includes courtney vandersloot, ali quigley, epiphany Prince Elena Deledon and Sylvia Fowles, oh, and Jessica Breland. All those were all-stars. At some point in time we got some Hall of Famers on this thing, like bro. It's kind of crazy when you think about it. So, again, those are some really solid finals matchups and she had a wonderful career. She had a wonderful time. Again, she won. Those are some really solid finals matchups and she had a wonderful career. She had a wonderful time. Again. She won those. That's wild.

Speaker 1:

Then we got to talk about the favorite pairing wish list, and I can make these quick because again they ain't happen. But just imagine it for a smooth second right. Candice Parker I'm going to start a little biasedly, just because again we talk about my sparks. Right, you can say Lisa Leslie too, if you like, but Candice Parker, or again Lisa Leslie if DT comes to her home team. Oh, that's phenomenal. Can you imagine Candice Parker and Diana Taurasi on the same squad? Candice Parker, her versatility offensively and defensively, plus Diana Taurasi scoring the ball and being the defender that she was, and she can play me too. She has a good IQ. That would have brought in some championships. I can't hold y'all, and keep in mind I don't want to sound ungrateful because I love the team we have with Chelsea Gray and Nneka Ogumike. I'm just saying I'd be curious to see how that shakes out.

Speaker 1:

Another pairing that I would have loved to see DT with is Elena Deledon. Ladies and gentlemen, again from a scoring perspective, we got two players who are we can slide them to the three and the four, or the three and the five, or the two and the five, two and the four. We might be able to let DT run a little point for us. We might be able to have two and three with Elena Delton on it. The three, dt at the two. The possibilities of scoring the ball are endless with these two, and they can score from any point of the basketball court.

Speaker 1:

It would have been insane to watch from an offensive standpoint. All you just need is some plug-and-play defenders and somebody to be able to hit an open shot, because I promise you, that's all you would need. These two would have been able to get a bucket like none other. So, honestly, offensively, I think they would have been better than Candace Parker. I just think, overall, versatility-wise, we might have been better with Candace Parker. That's it. So, yeah, elena Delda, offensively, oh, that might have been the best offensive pairing. We'll talk about.

Speaker 1:

About, though, sue Bird, though. Oh, that's another parent we got to talk about because, again, it's our best friend. We got the UConn connection right, elite backcourt. They were also Team USA's star-studded backcourt for the longest right. They got five gold medals. So, again, I didn't actually see that in the WNBA. I do think that would have been pretty cool, seeing the energy that they get to display all the time is kind of nice. Also, you get to see some of the battles that they have internally as well too. I'm sure they would fuss at one another Again. They're best friends. It's not like it's unhealthy, it would healthy, it would have been cool to see Again.

Speaker 1:

I would have loved to see that pairing. We really don't have to explain that too much. The next pairing that I would have loved to see, and this is my final one Maya Moore. Ladies and gentlemen, when we talk about and this is why I said arguably the best offensive matchup for Elena Deledon, because when I say these are two of the best, the best scores I've watched, and if they're on the same team, oh my gosh, you could say redundancy. Like I hear people talk about having Jordan and Kobe on the same squad, like I hear it like, hey, you know what I'm saying. And that's how I kind of view this similar matchup, like similar pairing, two-way players at the highest caliber, oh my God, that would have been phenomenal If we could have seen the. Any of these pairings would have been gracious, but this one, it sticks out to me for some reason. I can't hold you up. This would have been phenomenal to watch. So I would have loved to see any of those pairings.

Speaker 1:

Those are my four pairing wish lists, but let's slide on down because I'm done. Let's slide on down to the favorite dream wish list for Diana Taurasi to have played in the finals. Now I'm going to start off with my realistic and also then go down to the wish list, because these couldn't have happened at all whatsoever, but in 2010, diane sarasi and the mercury could have actually played the new york liberty in the finals, and I think that would have been extremely phenomenal because, ladies and gentlemen, if y'all remember, I said earlier her my favorite wba pairing teammate wise was kathy pondexter, for diane sarasi and Cappy Pondexter actually ended up leaving the Mercury and she went to the Liberty. So the fact that we could have gotten to see number one versus number two in the finals, that would have been phenomenal. They both ended up losing in the semifinals yeah, so it's very unfortunate. Hell, they got swept, I believe. So that's it, that one really hurts, but again, that would have been phenomenal to see good entertainment.

Speaker 1:

I don't like that. Yeah, that that's like, because again they won the championship in 2009. Then they break up and then you see them in the finals. Like that would have been like if shaq and kobe won, and then you see him in the finals next season against one another. That's just good basketball, that's good entertainment. So, again, that would have been my favorite dream wish list. That's number one for me, because, again, it was realistic and it would have been an extremely good storyline plus two top-tier talents going up against one another.

Speaker 1:

Now, number two, I'm biasedly going to say my Sparks right versus the Mercury, because y'all imagine Candice Parker going up against Diana Taurasi. I know she's beaten us twice. Yeah, we've gotten her a couple times too, though We've won some championships too now, so don't get it twisted. So, seeing that in the finals, I think that would have been a lovely matchup, an extremely lovely matchup. Cp has gotten the best of her a couple times before. You know what I'm saying. So again, seeing that with my sparks, that would have been nice.

Speaker 1:

How about the Storm versus the Mercury? Again, sue Bird versus Diana Taurasi in the WNBA finals? That would have been insane to watch Like. Again, I've already talked about how they were best friends. The UConn came and showed all that stuff, I think, exploring that in the finals. Granted, we couldn't have seen this. We couldn't have seen my Sparks't have seen my sparks play, because of the same conference, right. That's why I'm so happy that the sky ended up playing the mercury in the finals when they did, although it was dt a little bit older, but still we got to see that matchup. So again, I would have loved to see it with my sparks.

Speaker 1:

Just because everybody's a little bit younger, close to their primes, they would have been a little bit better of a battle With Sue Bird again a little bit younger, solid battle. But then you also got with Stewie. And then you also got Jewel Lloyd who, keep in mind, jewel Lloyd is also called the gold mama. So you got white mama and gold mama battling it out, plus Stewie, who is in goat conversations, and you got your best friend on the team. I think that's a wonderful battle to go up against, ladies and gentlemen, and let's not act like DT don't have a decent little squad on her squad as well. So I think that's extremely good entertainment.

Speaker 1:

And then finally, of course, the Lynx, because I said it before and I'll say it again Maya Moore, that would have been nice to see them go up against one another, especially if I talked about the missed teammates. Imagine those practices, oh my gosh, battling one another at some point in time. That's going to be insane. So seeing that in the finals would be a treasure. And then you also got Sylvia Fowles. So keep in mind she's already beaten. So Sylvia Fowles might have a little chip on her shoulder. You got to love that. So have a little chip on their shoulder, you got to love that. So again, the entertainment that you would have seen from these finals matchups, these potential finals matchups, especially in their younger days, their primes oh good times. Anytime you need a payment because they would have been getting a lot of bread off that.

Speaker 1:

But, ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't witnessed by now again, I said it was kind of a sad day, but I did have a lot of joy, a lot of entertainment, a lot of good vibes, reminiscing and going down Dianne Taurasi's wonderful career. So I hope you all have enjoyed that and I hope you all pay attention because hopefully we can see another Dianne Taurasi at some point in time in our lifetime, because this was a treasure to, to, to enjoy, gotta have it again. But, ladies and gentlemen, that's it for today. So again, diane tarassi, if you ever listen, I appreciate you for everything you did to the game. Um, you truly do mean a lot to everybody that's watched the wmba for for quite a while. You, you really are a legend and we thank you for all you've brought to the game.

Speaker 1:

But, ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time we have here on Get a Bucket. Thank you all for listening. Please like, subscribe, comment to anyone who's anyone about one, the WNBA and Diana Taurasi. We appreciate you, and also about my show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. Hope you all are having a good one. Take care.