Photo via espn.com
In case you’re new, I started a weekly topic called Feature Female Friday. I highlight females in the industry or women on the rise. Enjoy!
April 26, 2019 — It’s Friday and you know what that means! Another female to highlight and recognize. This week, one of the greatest: Diana Taurasi.
She id one of, if not the best female basketball player of all time. Three NBA Championships, four Olympic Gold Medals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016), five titles and NBA Rookie of the year in 2004.
Taurasi has been playing basketball from a young age and attended University of Connecticut (UConn) after high school. While she was there she won three consecutive NCAA Championships and countless awards.
In 2004 she was drafted first overall to the Phoenix Mercury and although the Mercury did not make it to the playoffs she won Rookie of the year. It wasn’t until 2007 when Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and Penny Taylor (future wife) led the Mercury to their first playoff appearance. The trio beat the defending champs, the Detroit Shock, in the finals series 3-2 and Taurasi was a Champion. In Game five Taurasi had a 30 point night to seal the deal. Let’s check out some of her top highlights:
Watching Taurasi’s highlights and the way she plays the game is similar to watching Steph Curry or Damian Lilliard on the court – she’s always creating plays and finishing them. Her strong attitude is unavoidable and she has this style with the ball that shakes the defense off her. She’s also been deemed the nickname White Mamba because of how fantastic she is on the court.
Fun Fact: she’s also the leading three-point scorer in the WNBA with 1,102 shots made. She’s on the board with Curry, Lillard and Klay Thompson for the only athletes to score 1k three-pointers in 400 games.
In recent news, Taurasi has announced she will be missing 10-15 weeks this season due to a disk surgery in her back. “We have confidence that this procedure will not only get her back on the court but ensure she can get back to chasing around her toddler son, Leo, as well,” Mercury GM Jim Pitman said. (Nelson, R. slamonline.com)
I hope she has a safe and healthy recovery and that
thesportsnote 