August 8, 2022
Diana Taurasi to miss the remainder of the WNBA season
Diana Taurasi last played on Aug. 2 in a loss to the Connecticut Sun
Diana Taurasi will miss the remainder of the WNBA season with a quad injury, the Phoenix Mercury announced Monday.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Taurasi last played on Aug. 2, in a loss to the Connecticut Sun. Taurasi played just 11 minutes before exiting the game with a quad injury and has not played since.
Prior to her injury, Taurasi played and started in 31 games this season, averaging 31 minutes per game. She averages 16.7 points per game and 3.9 assists per game, second on the Mercury behind Skylar Diggins-Smith.
The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom
The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
The Mercury hold a 14-19 record heading into their final three games of the season, which puts them in eighth place, in possession of the final playoff spot. The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks are both 13-20 and the Mercury have one remaining head-to-head matchup with the Lynx.
To replace Taurasi, the Mercury signed Yvonne Turner to a hardship contract, announced on Monday.
The Phoenix Mercury has signed Yvonne “Vonnie” Turner to a hardship contract due to an injury suffered by Diana Taurasi. pic.twitter.com/1Avbds0zJ7
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) August 8, 2022
Turner played for both the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream earlier this season, averaging 4.3 points, 1.8 assists and 2 rebounds per game. She spent the first three seasons of her WNBA career with the Mercury from 2017-2019.
The Mercury will be looking toward young contributors Diamond DeShields, Sophie Cunningham and Shey Peddy to take a step up to offset the loss of Taurasi.
It’s unclear whether the injury will keep Taurasi sidelined past this season. Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, hasn’t announced her plans after her contract expires at the end of this season.
“Seeing how happy (Sue Bird) is going through her retirement years made me really think about that long winter. When the season ends, I’ll be a free agent and I’ll see what’s best for me. I don’t know what that is right now. It’s always something that as you get older as an athlete, you start thinking about and you start bouncing off ideas on (wife) Penny (Taylor) and my close friends and people that I really respect and trust their opinion.”
