Diana Taurasi changed the WNBA by refusing to change herself

That Diana Taurasi refused a farewell tour, that she forced the Phoenix Mercury to drop hints large and small about her retirement so fans wouldn’t be caught unaware, is perfectly fitting.

Taurasi has made a career out of doing exactly what she wanted and nothing that she didn’t. She didn’t care that, when she came into the WNBA 20 years ago, women athletes were supposed to look a certain way. Act a certain way. They weren’t even supposed to sweat, let alone talk trash, play physical, collect technical fouls like souvenirs and publicly rage at losses.

But Taurasi did all that and then some. She didn’t care if she got under her opponents’ skin or rubbed WNBA executives the wrong way. She was a basketball player, and she’s always stayed true to that.

Anyone who thought she’d change course now must be new here.

"DT," Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said last weekend, "does it her way."

And she leaves the game better for it.

There were bad-ass women athletes before Taurasi set foot on the UConn campus in 2000. Women who weren’t afraid to own their greatness. Women who weren’t afraid to show off their muscles. Women who weren’t afraid to be competitive.

But Taurasi was one of the first to be all those things. When her poor performance as a freshman in the Final Four contributed to UConn’s semifinal loss, she vowed the Huskies would never lose another tournament game while she was there.

They didn’t, winning three consecutive NCAA titles.

She carried that feistiness into the WNBA, where she would run over anyone not in a Mercury uniform without a second thought if it meant getting the win. Taurasi did not take losses well, as evidenced by the cracked door in the visitors’ locker room at Wintrust Arena after Phoenix lost to the Chicago Sky in the 2021 Finals.

She made opponents look silly with her circus-trick passes and 3s from anywhere she pleased. You think Caitlin Clark’s got game? Taurasi was Clark before Clark ever picked up a ball. She holds the WNBA records for scoring, field goals and 3-pointers. (Also fouls, turnovers and technical fouls. Obviously.)

"Playing against DT was a pain," said Natasha Cloud, who spent her first eight seasons with the Washington Mystics before signing with Phoenix this year. "I would leave games with bruises all over my arm. She's one of the hardest people to guard because she just has so many weapons.

"And what makes her super dangerous is she can pass the (heck) out of the ball, too," Cloud added. "So you have to really just be on your Ps and Qs when you're playing against her."

Taurasi won three WNBA titles and was the 2009 MVP. Perhaps the most fitting honor came in 2019, when the WNBA made her the logo. Oh, the league won’t say that, but c’mon. The silhouette has Taurasi’s shot, her shape and her trademark bun.

"One of our pillars, one of our legends won't be in a game anymore, so the game will be missing that," Brittney Griner said when asked last weekend how Taurasi will be remembered when she retires.

But Taurasi was so much more than her attitude and her accomplishments. Ask her teammates about her, and they’ll talk about her leadership. Not only on the court, where she has three-dimensional vision and an encyclopedic knowledge of every player and every team. Off it, too.

Gruff as Taurasi might seem, she "loves hard," said Sophie Cunningham, who has played with Taurasi for six years.

"Dee is a really, really special egg," Cunningham said. "If people really got to know Dee, they really do see how much she cares and how much she wants to see the person right next to her be just as successful as herself."

That was evident after Griner’s release from prison in Russia, where she was wrongfully detained for 10 months. When Griner was ready to leave the Texas military facility where she spent her first week back in the United States, Taurasi was there to accompany her back to Phoenix.

"My whole career is with Dee," Griner, who played with Taurasi with the Mercury and UMMC Ekaterinburg, told USA TODAY Sports. "I’ve always said, I credit a lot to Dee, my success. So it’s gonna be a sad day (when she retires).  

"But it’s also gonna be a great day because we get to actually celebrate it," Griner added. "She's one of the most selfless people I know, and she hates being told about herself. But now, when that day comes, she ain’t got no choice but to hear us talk about her. And hype her up and everything that she deserves and all the flowers she deserves. Because she's done a lot for the game."

The wins, and what it took to get them, have always mattered more to Taurasi than the trappings of success. People who saw her as a malcontent didn’t understand she was determined to wring every last drop she could out of basketball because she didn’t want to cheat the game that gave her everything.

"I kind of look at it the other way, what it's given to me: An opportunity to do something that I love to do," Taurasi said Sunday when asked if she can appreciate yet all that she’s done for the game.

"And I think lately, I've been reflecting a little bit more how grateful and thankful we all need to be," she added. "You need to take a step back and really appreciate the moment that we're in in women's sports and the WNBA. With a lot of things changing, we have to be really grateful for everyone before us – and thankful for the next generation, too."

The game got better because Taurasi played it. It will continue to do so because she played it her way.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.