Diana Taurasi inducted into the Mercury Ring of Honor as franchise celebrates 20 years of excellence

PHOENIX (AP) — There's certainly a good case to be made that Diana Taurasi is the best player in WNBA history.

For Phoenix Mercury fans, that case is already closed: She's undeniably the G.O.A.T.

Taurasi was inducted into the Mercury Ring of Honor on Sunday at halftime of a game between the Mercury and Portland Fire, with the franchise retiring her No. 3 jersey and celebrating a superstar who has become synonymous with basketball in Arizona for more than two decades.

“This place has made me who I am,” Taurasi said just before her banner was unveiled in the arena's rafters. “You guys let me grow, you let me fall, you let me get back up and gave me the space to become who I am today. Through the championships, all the good times and all the bad times, the loyalty you have given me is something I will take with me forever.”

Taurasi, 44, played for the Mercury from 2004 to 2024 and won just about every championship and award that is possible for a player.

She's the WNBA's career scoring leader (by more than 2,000 points), an 11-time All-Star, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, a five-time scoring champion, a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time WNBA Finals MVP, the 2009 regular-season MVP and the 2004 Rookie of the Year.

She said Sunday's honor ranks up there with her biggest accomplishments.

“Today's a big one,” Taurasi said before the game. “Today feels different. When your number goes up there, you can't use it anymore, it's done. So if there was any little competitiveness still in me, I think today it goes up in the rafters with the number and it feels really good.”

More than the sheer numbers, she's remembered for her fierce personality that resonated in Arizona, helping turn the Mercury into one of the WNBA's premier franchises. Taurasi was surrounded on Sunday by friends and family, including her wife Penny Taylor and their two children.

She said she's lucky to have 20 years of friendships to celebrate — including her long relationship with the “X-Factor," which is the nickname for the team's loyal fan base.

“When I walk into (the arena), I don't see strangers, I don't see employees,” Taurasi said. “I see friends, I see people I go to dinner with, I see people I text regularly with. This isn't just something where I showed up and said, 'Well, let's see what we can do here and then leave.'"

“I treated this like my extended family. I think that's why walking in today — I'm really emotional.”

Hundreds of fans had gathered in downtown Phoenix more than two hours before the game — many wearing the No. 3 jersey Taurasi donned for two decades — even on an August afternoon with temperatures topping 105 degrees. Some took pictures in front of a mural featuring Taurasi on the side of the arena.

The announced attendance was 16,513, a sellout and a testament to how much the WNBA has grown since she debuted with the Mercury in 2004 after a stellar college career at UConn.

A string of tributes flowed throughout the evening, including from Suns star Devin Booker, former teammate Brittney Griner and recent football Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Larry Fitzgerald. Three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes and 23-time gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps were also in attendance.

Taurasi’s name was in lights several feet off one of the baselines, with some real, live goats grazing on hay. There was also a “Goat Plush Toss” where game staff threw toy goats into the stands.

There's no doubt who fans in Arizona believe is the greatest WNBA player of all time.

“When you're in the Valley, there's a reason you call her the G.O.A.T," Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. "We all believe that, the impact that she's made on this organization.”

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Retired WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball player Diana Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired Phoenix Mercury WNBA basketball player Diana Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball player Diana Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired Phoenix Mercury WNBA basketball player Diana Taurasi, left, hugs Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia as Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball player Diana Taurasi acknowledges the cheering crowd as she is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

ATLANTA (AP) — After the Indiana Fever's fourth straight win, Caitlin Clark said coach Stephanie White “made a great point” in her postgame talk with the team by saying “This felt like a playoff game.”

If so, the Fever looked playoff-ready in their 95-91 overtime win over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday.

The Fever showed impressive depth with four players scoring 18 or more points. Perhaps of more importance, Indiana responded to a major challenge from an Atlanta team that began the day one-half behind the Fever for the important fourth-place spot in the playoff standings. The top four teams receive home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“Coming into each night, we know how important that win is to hopefully get home-court advantage in the playoffs,” Clark said.

Atlanta led 72-64 entering the fourth quarter. Indiana held the Dream to nine points in the final period of regulation.

Despite giving the Fever an overall grade of only “B-minus” for the game, Clark had praise for her team.

“Just proud of our group,” Clark said. “Super resilient. ... Obviously, this was a big one.”

Clark scored 26 points with nine assists. After scoring only five points in the first half, Kelsey Mitchell had an important layup late in overtime to finish with 20 points. It was Mitchell's 19th consecutive game scoring at least 20.

“Kelsey struggled from the floor in the first half, and she found it in the second half,” White said. “I think that’s part of her growth, which is knowing to stay with it, that it’s going to come.”

White said Clark and Mitchell “were both terrific” and said Clark was effective in creating scoring opportunities for her teammates.

“The way that she’s getting us into offense, the way she’s using the floor to give her teammates shots ... she’s allowing the game to flow, and she’s doing a great job of finding her teammates in that,” White said. “The way she does that, it opens things up for her.”

Makayla Timpson delivered Indiana's first three field goals of overtime to score a career-high 20 points. Aliyah Boston added 18 points with 14 rebounds.

Clark said Atlanta, which had 32 points from Allisha Gray and 15 points with 14 rebounds from Angel Reese, “is a team that will be scary in the playoffs. They're great at what they do. They have a lot of different weapons.”

The Dream also had the support of a sellout crowd of 17,044 at State Farm Arena, the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and also the usual site of Dream games when Clark and the Fever are in town.

“For us, these are the games you get up for, that’s what’s fun about competition,” Clark said. “You know, you want to play the best. It brings out the best in you. Obviously, that’s been a challenge and we’re really good at that.”

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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) passes in the first half of an WNBA basketball game against the Atlanta Dream Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) high-fives teammates in the overtime during an WNBA basketball game against the Atlanta Dream Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Indiana Fever forward Makayla Timpson (21) celebrates with Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston (7) in the overtime during an WNBA basketball game against the Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles against Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray (15) in the overtime during an WNBA basketball game Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles the ball in the second half of an WNBA basketball game against the Atlanta Dream Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)