Phoenix Mercury cement Diana Taurasi’s legacy with court dedication

Thursday night, to kick off All-Star Weekend, the Mercury hosted the grand opening of their brand-new practice facility. They also unveiled the facility’s practice courts named after Taurasi, who has spent all 20 seasons of her career in Phoenix.

“Diana is one of the best players to ever play, right?” Phoenix Mercury and Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia told reporters. “And so as a fan my whole life, I watched her when she was at UConn. Then I watched her with the Phoenix Mercury win three championships here, and so I’ve been a fan of her my whole life. And then when I come out here, you realize that she’s synonymous with the name Phoenix Mercury — Diana Taurasi. And so you can’t build an arena or a court without having her name or her recognition in here.”

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The two practice courts named in Taurasi’s honor reside inside the Mercury’s new $100 million, 58,000-square-foot practice facility. Ishbia and the organization announced their plans for the project in October 2023 alongside a new team headquarters for the Mercury and Sun. The headquarters opened in April.

The new practice facility specially designed for the Mercury’s use is another illustration of Ishbia’s commitment to the Mercury and women’s sports since taking over the team in February 2023.

“I think [Ishbia’s] wanting to push the boundaries of what the WNBA looks like in so many ways,” Taurasi told the media. “And he vocalizes that, but he actually does things. He moves the needle. … He’s changed all of our accommodations in the last year of how we travel. He’s pushing boundaries in so many ways.”

For Taurasi, not only is it special to be a part of an organization willing to invest in its WNBA team, but it’s also special for her to receive recognition within the organization. All three of the Mercury’s WNBA championships came with Taurasi at the helm. She is the league’s all-time leading scorer and last season she became the first WNBA player to reach 10,000 career points. In less than a week, Taurasi will head to Paris to compete in her sixth Olympic games for her sixth gold medal, a record for a basketball player.

But even despite all the accolades and recognitions that deemed Taurasi worthy of the court’s namesake in Ishbia’s eyes, Taurasi sees herself and her accomplishments as a representation of those who came before her.

“My name might be on there, but it’s everyone who’s worn a Mercury jersey, a WNBA jersey,” Taurasi said. “You know, there’s ex-players from all teams here, people who’ve worked for the WNBA since day one, and I think it’s really a crowning moment in a lot of ways. You know, a lot of times when you’re in women’s sports, you’re always underwhelmed, and it’s actually nice to be overwhelmed for once.”

The court’s grand opening served as a kick-off event to All-Star Weekend, which Ishbia set high expectations for saying, “This is like an NBA All-Star Weekend.” Ishbia billed everything from the player gifts to the specially designed court to the halftime performer Pitbull as first class with the goal of elevating the game.

In addition to hosting an All-Star weekend that will set the standard for future mid-season festivities going forward, Ishbia also hopes that the Mercury’s new facility sets a new standard around the league.

In the offseason, guards Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud both cited Ishbia’s investment into the team as a reason Phoenix was a desirable landing spot for them. Ishbia said that he hopes this is a “short-term competitive advantage” as the rest of the league’s teams start to receive the same level of investment.

“I want the whole league to rise up, and I think there’s a great inflection point of this league right now,” Ishbia said. “And that’s why we want to make this WNBA All-Star like no other, and that plus the facility plus all the things we’re gonna do — we’re trying to make the game rise up together. Having some great rookies coming into the league, having legends like [Taurasi] — it’s all happening, and so we got to take advantage of it. Those opportunities don’t always come so we’re taking advantage and we’re gonna rise up together and I hope other owners and other teams follow.”

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Meanwhile, Taurasi is looking forward to utilizing the new facility. She says It was designed with player input on what they needed for improved practices and performance. According to Taurasi, there are also details, like in the locker rooms, that show the facility is tailored to a WNBA team.

With Taurasi’s name forever etched on the court, her legacy continues to grow with the Mercury and within the league as a whole.

“To see Rebecca [Lobo] here, to see Bridget [Pettis], Cheryl Miller, pioneers of our game Annie Meyers [Drysdale],” Taurasi said. “I mean, they were doing it when … it wasn’t popular, when the money really wasn’t there. But they did it because they love the game and it’s our turn to pay it forward to the next generation.”