Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player who plays
for UMMC Ekaterinburg of Russia. She played eleven seasons with the Phoenix
Mercury in the WNBA and in 2011 was voted one of the Top 15 all-time players
in WNBA history by fans. Early life
Taurasi grew up in Chino, California. Taurasi's father, Mario, was born in
Italy, and raised in Argentina. He has been a professional soccer player in
Italy, and played for several years as a goalie. Diana Taurasi's mother, Liliana,
is Argentinian. Mario and Liliana Taurasi emigrated from Argentina to the
United States before Diana was born. She has an older sister named Jessika.
High School She attended Don Antonio Lugo High
School, where she was the recipient of the 2000 Cheryl Miller Award, presented
by the Los Angeles Times to the best player in Southern California. She was
also named the 2000 Naismith and Parade Magazine National High School Player of
the Year, and the 1999 and 2000 Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year.
Taurasi finished her prep career ranked fifth in state history with 2,156
points. Taurasi was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the
2000 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored twelve points, and
earned MVP honors. College
Following a highly decorated high school career, Taurasi enrolled at the
University of Connecticut and began playing for the women's basketball team
during the 2000–2001 season. Taking the court primarily at point guard and
shooting guard, she led the team to three consecutive NCAA championships.
Leading up to the final championship, her coach, Geno Auriemma, would declare
his likelihood of winning with the claim, "We have Diana, and you don't."
Taurasi also received many personal accolades at UConn including the 2003
and 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year awards, the 2003 Wade Trophy, and
the 2003 Associated Press Player of the Year award. In addition to the national
recognition she received during her time at UConn, Taurasi was held in legendary
status by many Connecticut fans. For example, state senator Thomas Gaffey
nominated her to join Prudence Crandall as the state's heroine. She averaged
15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in her collegiate
career. During her time at UConn, her team compiled a record of 139 wins and 8
losses. Diana was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the
University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor"
recognition program. WNBA career
Following her collegiate career, Taurasi was selected first overall in the 2004
WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury, a team that went 8–26 in the 2003 season.
At times in her career, she had to play forward because there were shorter
players in the starting five on her team. However, she mainly plays guard.
In her WNBA debut, Taurasi netted 26 points and led the Mercury to an 84–76
victory over the Seattle Storm. For the season, the rookie averaged 17.0 points,
4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Although the Mercury did not qualify for
the playoffs, Taurasi was named to the Western Conference All Star team and won
the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. In 2005, Taurasi averaged 16.0 points,
4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while battling an ankle injury. She was
an All Star for the second straight year, but the Mercury faded down the
stretch and again missed the playoffs. Former NBA coach Paul Westhead became
the Mercury's head coach prior to the 2006 season and brought his up-tempo
style to Phoenix. Their roster was further bolstered by the addition of
rookie Cappie Pondexter, the #2 overall selection in the 2006 WNBA Draft.
Taurasi flourished under Westhead's system, leading the league in scoring
and earning a third straight trip to the All Star Game. She broke Katie Smith's
league records for points in a season and is tied with Lauren Jackson for most
points in a game. In 2006, Taurasi averaged a record 25.3 points, 4.1
assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. The Mercury finished 18–16, but after losing
a tie-breaker with Houston and Seattle, missed the playoffs.
In 2007, Taurasi finally reached the WNBA playoffs. In the first round, the
Mercury eliminated the Seattle Storm two games to none. Next, they swept the San
Antonio Silver Stars in a hard fought two game series. Taurasi got to her
first WNBA Finals, but had to face the defending champion Detroit Shock.
Taurasi and Pondexter led the Mercury to their first WNBA title. With this
victory Taurasi became the seventh player ever to win an NCAA title, a WNBA
title, and an Olympic gold medal. The others to achieve this are Ruth Riley,
Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, and fellow Huskies Swin Cash, Kara Wolters,
Sue Bird, and after the London 2012 Games, Maya Moore and Tamika Catchings.
Taurasi was a member of the USA women's 2004, 2008 and 2012 gold medal Olympic
Basketball Teams. In the 2009 season, Taurasi was named
the WNBA MVP and later led the Phoenix Mercury to its second WNBA championship
in three years by beating the Indiana Fever, three games to two, as Taurasi
was named the WNBA Finals MVP. Taurasi is one of only two players, to win the
season scoring title, the season MVP award, a WNBA Championship and the
finals MVP in the same season. In 2011, alongside being selected to her 7th
All-WNBA First Team, she was voted one of the Top 15 players in the
fifteen-year history of the WNBA by fans.
Entering the 2014 season, Taurasi is 2nd in WNBA history in points per game, 5th
in career points and 9th in career assists. In the 2014 season the Phoenix
Mercury finished 29-5 earning the top seed in the western conference, they
advanced to the WNBA Finals where they would sweep the Chicago Sky earning
Taurasi her 3rd championship. Taurasi also won the WNBA Finals MVP for the
second time in her career. On February 3, 2015, Taurasi announced
that she would sit out the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian
Premier League team, UMMC Ekaterinburg. The team offered to pay Taurasi more
than her WNBA salary to skip the 2015 WNBA season. For the 2014 WNBA season,
Taurasi made just under the league maximum of $107,000. But she makes 15
times that - approximately $1.5 million - playing overseas. Taurasi will return
to the Mercury in the 2016 WNBA season. International career
Taurasi was recruited to play for the European team Spartak Moscow. The team
had finished in eleventh place in the Russian league when Shabtai von
Kalmanovich decided to buy the team. Kalmanovich was a successful business
man with various interests, including women's basketball. He had stopped in to
see a local women's basketball team in Yekaterinburg, and "literally fell in
love with the point guard, Anna Arkhipova". He ended up buying that
team, but later decided to buy the Spartak Moscow Region team, and turn it
into a top team. He arranged to add a number of top-notch players, who had
earned seven Olympic medals between them. Many of the players were European,
but the team also included Australian born Lauren Jackson and USA born Sue
Bird and Taurasi. The team would go on to win four
consecutive Euroleague championships. On December 24, 2010, Taurasi's lawyers
revealed that Taurasi had tested positive for a mild stimulant while
playing in Turkish Champion Fenerbahçe professional basketball team. According
to her lawyer, Howard Jacobs, the positive test came from an "A" sample,
and that testing had been requested on a second "B" sample. Jacobs also was quick
to point out that the substance Taurasi tested positive for "was not a steroid
or recreational drug." Until the "B" sample can be tested, Taurasi has been
provisionally suspended from the Turkish league. In its own statement, the
Turkish basketball association revealed that the WADA-list banned substance was
modafinil. On February 16, 2011, Diana Taurasi was
cleared of doping allegations. ABC News indicated Taurasi was absolved from all
doping allegations and can rejoin her Istanbul team following the retraction
of the Turkish laboratory on its earlier finding on the former UConn star’s urine
samples. On May 16, 2012 Taurasi signed a
contract with UMMC. USA Basketball
Taurasi was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the
FIBA Americas Championship in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. The event was held in
July 2000, when the USA team defeated Cuba to win the championship. In the
closest match of the tournament, the semifinal game against Brazil, Taurasi
connected on seven of her eleven three-point attempts and ended the game
with 26 points. She averaged 12.6 points per game and led the team with assists
with 5.46 per game. On May 12, 2004, Taurasi was selected to
represent the United States with the US Women's National Basketball team at the
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She helped the United States capture the
gold medal, defeating Australia in the championship game. Taurasi represented
the United States as a member of the US Women's National Basketball team at the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, where she started all eight games and
helped lead the USA team to win the gold medal. Taurasi was the second leading
scorer on the USA Women's National Basketball team at the 2006 FIBA World
Championship held in São Paulo, Brazil. The USA team earned the bronze medal.
Taurasi has also earned a bronze medal as a member of the 2001 USA Junior World
Championship team, and a gold medal as a member of the 2000 USA Basketball
Women’s Junior World Championship Qualifying team.
Taurasi was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team
training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA
World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these
participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to
Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg
International Invitational. Taurasi was named as one of the National
team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA
Basketball. This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA
All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World
Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and
October 2010. Taurasi was selected to be a member of the National team
representing the USA at the World Championships held in September and
October 2010. The team was coached by Geno Auriemma. Because many team members
were still playing in the WNBA until just prior to the event, the team had
only one day of practice with the entire team before leaving for Ostrava and
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Even with limited practice, the team managed to
win its first games against Greece by 26 points. The team continued to dominate
with victory margins exceeding 20 points in the first five games. Several players
shared scoring honors, with Swin Cash, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore, Taurasi,
Lindsay Whalen, and Sylvia Fowles all ending as high scorer in the first few
games. The sixth game was against undefeated Australia — the USA jumped
out to a 24-point lead and the USA prevailed 83–75. The USA won its next
two games by over 30 points, then faced the host team, the Czech Republic, in
the championship game. The USA team had only a five-point lead at halftime,
which was cut to three points, but the Czechs never got closer. Team USA went
on to win the championship and gold medal. Taurasi led the team in scoring
with 12.0 points per game and was second on the team with 23 assists.
Taurasi was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team
Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball players, plus collegiate
player, were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player
Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which will represent the
USA at the 2012 Olympics in London. Personal life
On July 2, 2009, Phoenix police spokesman Luis Samudio says an officer
stopped Taurasi at about 2:30 a.m. for allegedly speeding. A police statement
says the officer smelled alcohol and gave her several field sobriety tests.
Taurasi was then driven to a mobile DUI van where she gave a blood sample, then
was cited and released. Authorities later said her blood alcohol level was
0.17. The Phoenix Mercury responded to this news by suspending her for two
games later that month. She however was named a reserve for her fourth All-star
appearance that summer. After extreme DUI and speeding charges were dropped,
Taurasi pleaded guilty to DUI. She served one day in jail after a judge
suspended nine days of the 10-day sentence. The incident had a profound
effect on Taurasi. Taurasi had a cameo role in the 2006
film Believe In Me. Awards and honors
2003 – Nancy Lieberman Award 2003 – Wade Trophy
2003 – Naismith College Player of the Year
2003 – NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2003 – Honda Sports Award, basketball 2004 – Nancy Lieberman Award
2004 – Naismith College Player of the Year
2004 – NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2004 – WNBA Rookie of the Year Award 2004 – Honda Sports Award, basketball
2004 – All-WNBA First Team 2005 – WNBA All-Star Selection
2005 – All-WNBA Second Team 2006 – WNBA All-Star Selection
2006 – WNBA Peak Performer 2006 – All-WNBA First Team
2007 – WNBA All-Star Selection 2007 – All-WNBA First Team
2008 – WNBA Peak Performer 2008 – All-WNBA First Team
2009 – WNBA Peak Performer 2009 – WNBA All-Star Selection
2009 – WNBA Most Valuable Player Award 2009 – WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player
Award 2009 – All-WNBA First Team
2010 – All-WNBA First Team 2011 – All-WNBA First Team
2012—USA Basketball's female athlete of the year
2014 – WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
Euroleague Winner 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Euroleague Women MVP 2009, 2010
Career statistics = University of Connecticut =
= WNBA = Regular season
Postseason See also
Connecticut Huskies women's basketball List of Connecticut women's basketball
players with 1000 points 2003–04 Connecticut Huskies women's
basketball team References
External links Official website
Diana Taurasi at WNBA.com WNBA Player 2004 Draft Prospectus
fenerbahce.org Profile USA Basketball bio
Jockbio Bio UConn bio
galatasaray.org Bio