‘Sustained Excellence, Role Model’: Diana Taurasi Named WNBA GOAT
Sunday, October 10, 2021 at 04:20PM NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Servic
October 10, 2021: From this day forward, you can't spell Diana Taurasi without G.O.A.T.
Calling it a reflection of her "sustained excellence on the court and her leading role in advancing the WNBA and women’s basketball,” the WNBA said that of all the women who have played in the league, Taurasi is the “Greatest of All Time.”
The honor was the culmination of the WNBA’s “Vote for the GOAT” platform as part of the celebration of its 25th anniversary season.
Taurasi, who has spent her entire 17-year WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury, was joined in the Top Five by Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Candace Parker and Cynthia Cooper in the “Vote for the GOAT.”
“Congratulations to Diana Taurasi on being voted as the greatest WNBA player of all time by the fans who have followed her illustrious career and saw her rise above the rest,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said when the honor was unveiled prior to Game 1 of the WNBA Finals 2021 presented by YouTube TV in Footprint Center, Phoenix.
“This well-deserved recognition reflects her sustained excellence on the court and her leading role in advancing the WNBA and women’s basketball and being a role model for young athletes everywhere. The opportunity to honor Dee is yet another special moment in celebration of our historic 25th season.”
Last month, the WNBA named “The W25” — the 25 greatest and most influential players in WNBA history, as selected by a panel of media members and women’s basketball pioneers.
The public-at-large then voted to determine the GOAT — conducted on WNBA.com, the WNBA App and Twitter from Sept. 5-19 — from among members of “The W25.”
For being named the GOAT, Taurasi received a one-of-a-kind commemorative trophy: a basketball made of resin and marble, detailed with white mamba scales and inscriptions that recognize her accomplishments. 
She has led the WNBA in scoring five times; and is the league’s career leader in points (9,058 at the conclusion of the 2021 season), field goals made and three-point field goals made in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Her 14 All-WNBA Team selections are the most in league history.
With the Mercury, Taurasi has won three WNBA championships to date, two WNBA Finals MVPs and one regular-season WNBA MVP award.
Taurasi was selected by the Mercury with the first overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft out of Connecticut
Earlier this year, she won her fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team (2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2012 Rio de Janeiro, 2020/2021 Tokyo).
She and her partner, Penny Taylor also just celebrated the birth of their second child.
The W25 includes ten current players: Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Elena Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner, Angel McCoughtry, Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart and Taurasi.
There also are 15 retired players among the honorees: Seimone Augustus, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Cynthia Cooper, Yolanda Griffith, Becky Hammon, Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, Maya Moore, Ticha Penicheiro, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Smith, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Lindsay Whalen.
The WNBA W25
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