The WNBA's all-time leading points scorer Diana Taurasi has announced her retirement from basketball.

Taurasi is one of the most decorated players in basketball history, having won three WNBA titles with the Phoenix Mercury, in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

Having been selected first overall by the Mercury in the 2004 WNBA Draft, Taurasi played each of her 20 seasons with the team, while she has also won six Olympic gold medals with the United States. 

With 10,646 points, Taurasi is the only player in WNBA history to surpass the 10,000 mark, while her 565 regular-season games rank second only to Sue Bird (580).

Taurasi also added 1,476 points in 72 playoff games, the most recent of which came last September as Phoenix lost to the Minnesota Lynx in round one of the postseason.

But rather than attempt another playoff run in 2025, the 42-year-old has opted to call time on her glittering career.

In an interview with TIME Magazine, Taurasi explained she realised her career was over when thinking about the coming season on New Year's Day.

"I just didn't have it in me," she said. "That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away.

"Mentally and physically, I'm just full. That's probably the best way I can describe it. I'm full and I'm happy."

After 20 years of playing in the WNBA, Diana Taurasi is officially retiring 

Thank you Diana for changing the game forever, all of the accolades could never amount to the type of person and edge you embodied when you stepped out there on the court

One-of-One  pic.twitter.com/dEtE4NDrGH

— WNBA (@WNBA) February 25, 2025

Taurasi also rejected the notion she could U-turn on her decision, adding: "I'm definitely retired. I'm going to miss the competition.

"I'm going to miss trying to get better every single offseason. I'm going to miss the bus rides, the shootarounds. I'm going to miss the inside jokes. 

"I'm going to miss the locker room, the things that come with being on a basketball team. All those things, I'll deeply miss."

Taurasi, who is considered by many to be the greatest player in WNBA history, added there will soon be another player capable of hunting down her various records.

"My scoring record, or the six gold medals, someone's going to come around that has the same hunger, the same addiction to basketball, and put those records in a different way, a different name," she said. 

"That's what sports is all about. That's going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon, though!"

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said of Taurasi: "In a record-setting career that saw her play 20 seasons, score more points and make more three-point shots than any player in WNBA history, she has earned the unquestioned respect of players around the globe, delivered electrifying moments and captivated fans again and again.

"On behalf of the WNBA family, I thank Diana for everything that she has brought to the WNBA – her passion, her charisma and, most of all, her relentless dedication to the game."