[producer] Are you comfortable?
[Diana] Oh, yeah, I'm good. Does this look bad?
-[producer] I want to make sure. -[Diana] I'm good.
As long as it looks good, I don't give a shit.
[chuckles] Okay, I'm kidding.
[producer] Don't worry, we're shooting this…
[Diana] You can cut my nose off. That's fine.
You can make that shit smaller, if you want.
Good luck with those tricks.
[man] All right, quiet, everyone please. We're rolling. Thank you.
[interviewer]
[Diana] My first year in Turkey when I was accused of doping.
[commentator] Diana Taurasi… [speaking Turkish]
[Diana] I've put in thousands of hours,
sacrificed my whole life to be called a cheater?
-Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi… -[sportscaster] …is in trouble again.
-Testing positive for… -…a banned stimulant.
That was the worst moment of my life.
[crowd]
That means no Olympics, no overseas.
Done for four years.
It just completely crushed me.
[Diana's mother]
[Sue Bird] Dee just went in fetal position.
She didn't really talk about it much, especially in the first five months.
[Diana] I remember sitting down with a Turkish lawyer,
and he goes, just tell 'em you did it, and you get two years.
And I'm like, wait, what do you mean?
He goes, take plea bargain, two years, and then you can play again.
I'm like, no. I'm not gonna get coerced into saying
that I took a drug I didn't take.
So, I hired the best anti-doping lawyer in the world.
They found malpractice. That lab got shut down.
The lab that returned a positive test retracted its report
[reporter] …and declared Taurasi's sample negative.
[Diana] When you're faced with moments of difficulty,
you find a way to zero in and focus.
[Lindsay Colas] That's Dee's superpower.
She's gonna do it her way.
And she's been really unapologetic about that standard.
[Diana] Here comes big money! Here comes big money!
There's always gonna be people that hate
that don't know what they're talkin' about.
-Who's the best shit-talker in the WNBA? -Diana.
[woman] She just took me out. Like, flagrant foul.
[man] She read your mind.
-She's a asshole. -That's what I love about her.
I don't give a fuck about what other people say.
Taurasi ejected…
…and then continuing to argue with the officials.
She's a shit-stirrer.
It makes me laugh.
[upbeat operatic music]
[commentator] She's a fierce competitor. Confrontational, emotional.
[commentator 2] Taurasi has just earned herself a technical.
[commentator] Diana Taurasi…
[woman 2] She's waiting for someone to talk shit to her.
Like, fuel me, please.
[commentator] She tells you the truth. She's not trying to sugarcoat anything.
Don't be so humble. You're not that good.
I'm just trying to make sweet love. That's about it.
[man] She's a villain now.
-Hater. -Bona fide hater.
None of it bothers me.
[commentator 2] She's a very polarizing player.
[woman 3] She's gonna cheap shot her.
There's gonna be dirty play. And that's just DT.
[Diana] You can call me whatever you want.
I've heard it all.
Fuck you. [laughs]
[operatic music]
[man] The big off-season question for the GOAT.
Is she coming back?
[man 2] I think she's got one more good season in her.
[woman 4] I hope she never thinks about retiring anytime soon.
[woman 5] Retirement where? Diana Taurasi starting the season hot.
[woman 6] She hasn't confirmed she is retiring after this season.
It's hard to put into words what DT has meant to this franchise.
-She did her part. -[man 3] She did her part.
Now it's time…
[Kate Fagan] It's always hard to understand how somebody can be
so deeply attached to a game that is going to have to end.
That just feels so painful.
I always ask myself, well, then what?
[gentle music]
Some people see that…
[Diana] People keep asking me, what are you gonna do afterwards?
Do you have any hobbies?
I've been working. I don't have hobbies.
I've been doing one thing for 35 years.
I don't know what my hobbies are.
Elevator? Shh.
I don't know what other interests I have.
I don't know what those things are.
Hopefully, I have some other talents.
I really enjoyed the game.
I got to explore the game in different ways and philosophies.
I got to push myself in ways I didn't think I could be pushed.
[Kate] The level of poetry that Diana brought to the game
will be almost impossible to match.
[commentator] And we are underway.
[Diana] In 2007, we had an amazing coach, Paul Westhead.
How about a shooting foul? Direct panning.
[Diana] He led the Lakers to a championship.
He brought in a different style of play, a different mentality.
He's all about fast break, fast ball, a system.
Small ball, shoot a lot of threes, fast-paced.
["How You Like Me Now" by The Heavy playing]
[commentator indistinct]
We were fast. We were up and down. We were relentless.
[commentator] Taylor on a drive!
-Shooting, passing. -Go, go, go.
[commentator 2] Taurasi is an exceptional passer.
[commentator] Oh, you're kidding!
[Diana] And at the time, you didn't see that in the WNBA.
[Vince Kozar] Paul's system unlocked her.
The fire she played with. Floodgates were unleashed.
[commentator] Very quickly, Taurasi gets it up and in.
[commentator 2] How did she get this shot off?
[commentator 3] Taurasi made more threes than anyone in the league.
The difference between a great player and the best players,
is their ability to take people with them.
[Diana] Penny, at that time, was probably the best wing in the world.
[commentator] Taylor can step back and get that. And does.
[Diana] And then, you throw Cappie into the mix.
The best one-on-one player I've ever been around in my life.
[Vince] Dee wants basketball to be a five-person game.
That's what makes her special. She's gonna involve her teammates.
She's gonna celebrate her teammates. When she says she wants to win,
she means whatever's best for the team.
-Thank you, Vince. -Thank you, Vince, yeah.
[laughs]
[commentator] Final seconds here.
And for the first time in their history,
the Phoenix Mercury are the champs in the WNBA.
[Vince] It was historic, and it was high stakes.
Thank you guys so much. And next year, we're gonna do it again.
♪How you like me now?♪
[Vince] 2009, that was the best season of Diana's career.
[commentator] A fast start for the Mercury.
[commentator 3] Making it easy. Taurasi making it look easy.
She was the most exciting player I've seen in a long time.
Her style of play was unlike anything women's basketball had seen.
[commentator] Taurasi shoots it. Taurasi for three!
Killer instinct that not many have.
[commentator 3] It doesn't matter, she can score in any way…
Dee's signature playing style is fire, intensity.
And seven games in just 13 days. Just how exhausting is the season?
I want to retire.
Nah, it's been okay.
[commentator] For the second time in three years,
the Phoenix Mercury had a chance at the WNBA…
[Vince] We won the whole thing again.
[Diana] There's nothing like winning a WNBA championship.
And when you do it with the same group that had done it two years before that,
it's just so gratifying.
[Vince] She won the MVP.
No, I don't want that one. Where's the big one?
And the big one is what we wanted. So, you know what?
This is what it's all about.
[Vince] Diana raised the talent and skill level,
and she completely revolutionized the league.
Because of her, other great players are coming into the league.
Players with new talent and skill.
Things change. And that can sort of shift the balance.
We go through a drought of not winning, and you have to build yourself back up.
And that led to the 2013 draft with Brittney Griner.
First pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, the Phoenix Mercury
select Brittney Griner.
[sportscaster 2] A 6'8" player with this kind of athletic ability…
BG gave us this dynamic presence inside that we never had.
[Vince] She's dunking, when no other women at that time are dunking in games.
[commentator] Brittney Griner gives it a home!
[Diana] Candice Dupree was the premier foreman in our game.
And Penny was our two.
That was probably the biggest line-up to ever play in the WNBA.
[Vince] It was the best team this league had ever seen.
Oh, we're in the finals? I didn't even know.
[commentator] Taurasi makes her move.
Taurasi, the pull-up is going.
Phoenix Mercury are your champions.
A record-breaking season
that is capped by the franchise's third title.
[woman] The MVP 2014, Diana Taurasi!
You win three championships, you need to start talking about, well,
maybe this is a dynasty.
Maybe this is a team that's gonna be talked about for a long, long time.
[piano music]
[overlapping chatter]
[Diana] Nice.
After 20 years of basketball, the damage has been done.
The carnage is there.
You're just hurting every day, everywhere.
Back, knee, shoulder.
My elbows hurt right now. I don't know why my elbows hurt.
All those things, they take a physical and mental toll on you.
But you have to show up and do it every single day.
And that's what basketball is.
[Jessika] I don't think there's a more dedicated player than my sister.
She will have your back. She'll be the first one to the gym,
and the last one out.
Working hard runs deep.
It was instilled since we were little.
My mom and dad are hard-working people.
They're immigrants. They came here not knowing one word of English.
My dad, he was always at work.
He worked for big aerospace companies.
Sheet-metal worker. You know, it was hard labor.
[gentle music]
[Mario]
[Diana] One day, he came home,
got out of the car, he had a napkin. Mom goes, what's in the napkin? My finger.
And we're just like, you've gotta be kidding me.
That's just the type of mindset he had.
Going to work every single day. No matter what.
[Penny] The best lessons we teach our kids are by example.
She saw him living the sacrifice.
That's who she is.
She doesn't take a day off. She's pushing even harder.
And maybe a little of that is wanting to leave an impression
on the children the same way her father did.
-[overlapping party chatter] -[upbeat music playing]
[woman 2] What a special night
to celebrate Dee and her friends and her family,
and everybody who's been a part of this for 20-plus years.
Eleven All-Stars, three championships of WNBA.
Thank you, and congrats for the 20 years plus
of what you've accomplished.
-[applause] -Cheers!
Oh, I mean, it feels like the end, right now.
[party laughs]
I guess it's always better
to know what people feel about you before you die.
[party laughs]
Today's been a very emotional day on a lot of levels.
You know, my parents came to this country with literally nothing.
Didn't know the language.
And 20 years later, they still don't.
[all laugh]
You know what, but I learned so much about life from my mom and dad.
Where it's all the little things that you do every single day.
And you don't get a prize.
You just did it over and over again
to make sure that your kids have a better life.
'Cause at the end of the day,
it's about being around people that you love.
So, everyone, put your glasses up
for you and your loved ones. Salud.
[applause and cheers]
[woman 3] One, two, three.
[shutter clicks]
Oh, I was looking at the ball. [laughs]
[Geno] You've already accomplished more than 99.99% of players
that ever picked up a basketball.
You have no reason to stay.
But you're not ready to give it up yet, either.
[woman 3 cheers]
Serious Vanity Fair 30 Under 30.
Forty over 40.
[laughs]
Jay… Tracy, get in the middle.
One, two, three…
[Jessika] She's just had such a great career.
And a lot of it has been unnoticed.
And now that the WNBA and these women are finally getting a spotlight,
and we have so many new fans, that just like,
didn't get to see all the greatness before this.
Selfishly, I don't want her to retire.
-[photographer] Bad bitches… -Bitches, let's go eat!
Diana Taurasi was always ready for the WNBA.
The WNBA just wasn't ready for Diana.
[Geno] The unfortunate thing about Dee's career
is that it happened at a time when social media wasn't a factor.
So, a lot of people never got to see the amazing things that she did.
[commentator] Taurasi from NBA range.
In today's world it's, if you did something great last night,
you're the best to ever do it, ever.
[commentator] Caitlin Clark.
[sportscaster 2] The queen of college basketball.
[woman 4] Caitlin Clark, the best offensive player we've seen
in women's college basketball in 20 years, since Diana Taurasi.
[Lindsay] The next generation has visibility.
They've done a great job of using their audience
through social, that they have cultivated, making them household names.
These women have been able to carry that audience
from their college years into the pro.
[sportscaster 5] You all are royalty in the sport.
There's some college stars going to the WNBA, Caitlin's coming.
What will the league have in store for them when they get there?
Reality is coming.
You look super-human playing against 18-year-olds,
but you're gonna come with some grown women
that've been playing professional basketball for a long time.
The Caitlin Clark comments, it just got hi-jacked.
There's a new rivalry brewing. It's Caitlin Clark and Diana Taurasi.
Mean girl, bully, bitter behavior.
"Reality is coming." Fuckin' loser.
Diana Taurasi, go-- yourself.
-Cut Diana. -Cut Diana.
-Old… -Stupid…
-Villain… -Jealous…
Dumb.
Sue was like, worried about me. "Are you okay?"
I was like, what's goin' on? [laughs]
She goes, you're getting fucking killed and murdered.
I was like, where? I woke up great this morning.
What are you talking about?
I don't give a fuck what Twitter accounts have to say.
They don't exist to me.
[gentle music]
[Kate] If you're a new Caitlin Clark fan and she's your entry point to the game,
I don't know how many of those fans
understand who Diana Taurasi is.
Diana carried the WNBA through a period of time
where a lot of people were questioning whether the WNBA would still exist.
[Vince] Everyone who comes after Dee
will be standing on her shoulders.
Twenty years after that, players will have grown up
watching someone who modeled her game after Dee.
She was one of the first women's basketball players
I really grew up idolizing.
She's one of the best players our game has ever seen.
It's impressive that she's still able to play this game at such a high level.
[commentator] This is the hottest ticket in Phoenix,
and we are under way.
[operatic music]
[commentator 2] Just a couple of kids hangin' out at the park
havin' a conversation.
[commentator] Reality is about to hit
from the master teacher, Diana Taurasi.
[Kate] Sometimes I think of Diana as a lost superstar
who fell into the abyss of where the WNBA was.
It has just enough of a foundation to create a superstar,
but not enough to transcend her.
[operatic music continues]
And now, Diana will be riding into the sunset
just as the doors open for this league.
[music ends]
[bus brakes squeal]
What's up?
Hey, guys. How are you?
Welcome home.
[sportscaster 6] The U.S. Olympic roster was leaked today.
And we've gotta give a shout-out to five-time gold medalist Diana Taurasi
-who turns 42 on Tuesday. -Ohh…
You'd think I wouldn't be nervous, but I'm nervous.
-And to make it official. -Oh, man that's nice.
Ooh-hoo.
[sportscaster 6] Caitlin Clark didn't make the cut.
[sportscaster 7] Twelve players made it, and she did not.
The twelve best don't always go.
Was it a missed opportunity to grow the game? Yes.
It was a dumb decision!
Team USA is not worried about the marketing.
Team USA is trying to get a gold medal.
Diana Taurasi played overseas basketball.
Most of the women that made this team
competed in Belgium. They're familiar with each other.
There's no way you can completely discount what team chemistry stands for.
-[man] Y'all droppin' the ball. -[man] Caitlin has…
[man] …the Box Office.
[Kate] The criticism for the Paris Olympic roster
comes down to this next generation. It's their time.
[Sue] This is a team with some returning Olympians
and a lot of rookies.
So, when I see Dee get picked,
she is there to lead. She is there to calm everyone down
when shit gets weird, because shit's gonna get weird.
It always does.
Diana Taurasi has to be on a roster to pass the torch.
She was the one holding it. She has always been the example
of what it means to play and define success for USA basketball.
[music crescendos, ends]
To be honest, I never really thought about it.
I always felt like I deserved to be on the team,
'cause it was my team for 20 years.
And I know how to get the job done.
-One, two, three! -[all] USA!
[Diana] Twenty years with the national team.
Something that I take great responsibility in.
[explosion]
[commentator] Taurasi nails a three.
[Kate] Stepping onto a court and just owning it.
That is Diana's MO.
[man 8] Diana Taurasi.
[Sue] What makes Dee a special kind of teammate is
you feel like a million dollars around her.
So when you take the court, that's how you play.
She raises the level of everyone around her.
[cheers]
She is the one who would come in at crucial moments
and turn the game around.
-[commentator] Pass by Diana Taurasi. -[commentator 3] And Taurasi to Parker.
[commentator 2] She's a big time player when it counts.
[Sue] She is Team USA.
[music rises]
[Diana] Each one makes you a little bit more reminiscent
of how good the last one was.
I just wanted to win, and I just kept showin' up.
-See ya in Paris. -[laughs]
[overlapping chatter]
[woman 6] Come on, family picture.
Over here? Over here by…
Oh, okay.
There we go. I like being the center of attention. Just kidding.
-Say, "Go, Mama!" -Go, Mama!
[Isla] Oh, look, brother gets chocolate.
All right, we're having chocolate for breakfast?
When in France?
[Mario] Good? A bueno?
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
All right, I made you a little one.
All right, cheers to gold.
[all] Cheers to gold.
Yes!
[Jessika] We're all just so proud of her.
We all want to make sure we're there to support her and witness history.
[Isla] I just want that.
[Mario]
[interviewer] What are you feeling right now about the attention on your age?
[Diana] When you dedicate your whole life,
and you get the question of, why don't you just retire?
It's just so easy for a question to be brought up
in a manner where it's not meant to be disrespectful.
In women's sports, in women's professions,
um, only a woman would have 20 years of experience
and it's an Achilles' heel.
[upbeat orchestral music]
[sportscaster 9] We have reached the finale of the Paris games.
France and the United States will meet on the basketball court
to fight for gold as the US goes for eight straight.
[commentator] So much at stake. Sixty straight wins,
eight straight potential gold medals with a win here.
[commentator 2] Here is the GOAT, the White Mamba.
[commentator 4] Diana Taurasi, 42 years old. She's still on the court.
[kids] Mama!
[Sue] You're playing against a French team that's on their home floor.
For them to upset the US in Paris, in front of their fans,
to win a gold medal, that's the type of shit you dream of
when you're a little kid. So, that's what they're playing for.
[tense music]
[commentator] Gabby Williams for three.
Fast points in the game for France.
[commentator 3] We'll see if Diana Taurasi will be making an entrance
into this game looking for her sixth Olympic title.
[commentator 4] And France gets the turnover.
The French team was really good.
[commentator 4] And again, they get a turnover!
[Diana] There's a lot of things that come into play
when you're choosing a team, and who's playing and not playing.
I get all that.
Clearly, it was a game that was a big mind fuck for us.
Everything's going 100 miles per hour.
[commentator] Returned.
I've been in a thousand of those games.
That's the benefit of playing in Europe for 12 years.
This is like a nice Sunday afternoon stroll for her.
My seat was across from Dee. She's kinda giving me like a…
I don't know what the hell is going on.
I think BG played three minutes. We look at each other.
Yeah, we're probably done for the night.
At that point, I was just really worried about the game.
'Cause we weren't playing well.
[commentator 2] If I was coaching, I would definitely put in Diana Taurasi.
She can come in, help us calm down a little bit.
This is the game she was actually brought there for.
[commentator 4] France with an eight point lead.
You're not even gonna like get me on for a little bit?
[commentator] DT hoping her team can clinch her a sixth consecutive gold medal.
Is this really how you wanted your all-time champion to go out?
That can't possibly have been the plan.
[commentator 4] There it is, three point game.
Just seconds to go. Williams has to put it up. It might not be three.
Oh, I think it's two!
[commentator 2] Yeah, it's a two.
[commentator 3] Disappointment for France.
United States of America won eight straight gold medals.
[Diana] I've done this five other times where I felt like I really earned it.
This one was the one that doesn't belong.
What a better way to finish the Paris Olympics
than to see that.
[Sue] She should've played, 100%.
And to be honest, I don't know why they didn't play her.
[Diana] I'm confused by what happened.
I never got, "Hey, you're not gonna play 'cause we're going this direction."
Sounds good.
I could live with that.
But I didn't get that.
Maybe it was just my time to kinda get the raw end of the stick.
[laughs]
[interviewer]
[solemn piano music]
[Diana] Oh, he was fuckin' pissed.
My dad is the quietest, most competitive guy ever.
He was mad. On top of knowing it was my last Olympics.
[cheering]
[Diana] I was just gonna enjoy it.
I was gonna go and treat it like my first one.
[Diana] You know, out of all of it,
the celebration was my family, being there with them.
That was what that moment was supposed to be.
You know, whether I liked it, or didn't like it,
it doesn't matter now.
♪Ole, ole, ole, ole♪
[orchestral music rises]
[Diana] It's been a hell of a ride.
To the best mommy in the world.
[overlapping chatter]
[Mario]
[cheering]
[indistinct]
[singing in Spanish]
[Diana] You know what they haven't invented yet?
Squeeze bottle for peanut butter.
-[Penny] That'd be good. -Because it always ends up on the edge.
And then you end up with this shit.
Isla, you want a smoothie?
-No. -[gasps]
[blender whirring]
-With spinach? -No.
Can't forget the spinach. It's the whole point.
[Penny] It's the whole point, yeah. [laughs]
[Diana] Without Penny, I would've never been able to play
these last four or five years.
She's just done everything.
Do you want another coffee?
Penny's just superwoman.
People are like, the season's only four months.
No, my season's a whole year.
I take two weeks off, and then I'm back in it.
And my mind's never out of it.
I'm used to doing things by myself. [laughs]
[Diana] Whoa-ho-ho.
You know, everyone kind of adjusts back into it.
Easy. Is that how you speak about me when I leave the room?
You were in the room, that's fine.
[Diana] I just think at this point in my life,
I don't think I could do it. I don't think I want to do it.
And I think I'd rather be home with Penny and the kids.
I'd rather take 'em to school.
I'd rather be having a coffee with Penn.
[gentle piano music]
[gentle orchestral music]
[Diana] I've only been here a week and a half, and there hasn't been,
you know, that much time to see the town, but I like it so far.
[whistles]
Oh, didn't I see you last night?
Yeah. I had my daughter with me last night.
I was gonna try to get her out to meet you.
[commentator] This could be the final time
we see the GOAT suiting up for a home game.
[commentator 2] She started all 564 Mercury games.
She's done all of this in one jersey
with Phoenix across her chest this whole time.
[commentator 4] Could it be the night?
[commentator 2] I don't know. It really is seeming like it
with the marketing campaign. The Mercury are rolling out.
They're saying if this is it.
[buzzer blares]
[Diana] When the game's over…
it was kind of like one of those moments when you can't hear anything.
And you kinda just… We just go sit down.
And just sit there, and not think about anything.
I didn't have this, you know, running highlight
of 20 years goin' past my eyes.
You know, I didn't have that.
The game's over.
[commentator 2] And we are waiting for the post-game celebration to start.
And chants from the X-Factor, "one more year."
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise
for Diana Taurasi!
[cheering]
[Diana] There's really no place to start,
but there's always a place to finish.
And it seems to be in the same place.
Which, as you guys know, when I got here in 2004,
I kinda knew I was gonna be here for a long time.
[crowd cheering]
[Diana] I had a feeling that this was home
in a strange and mysterious way.
The people here, the city.
[cheering]
And if it is the last time…
[upbeat orchestral music]
If it is the last time…
[crowd chanting] One more year!
It… [chuckles]
Y'all…
[cheering]
But…
if it is the last time,
it felt like the first time. I love you guys.
[crowd cheers]
[orchestral music rises]
[announcer] Let's here it one more time
for the greatest of all time…
[Lilliana]
[Mario]
[Geno] Something that's remained constant since the beginning
is her love of the things that matter most in her life:
her family, basketball, people.
[Sue] In some weird way, even though the two of us
were not born in an era where we got to make a living
in the ways that we did overseas.
I also wouldn't change a thing, because I got to play
with one of the greatest of all time.
I got to witness it. I got to see it every day.
She made me a better player, me a better person.
But forget the basketball.
I feel lucky that she's one of my closest friends.
[Vince] How do you thank someone
for giving her entire career to one team?
I'm under no pretense, at any time, she could've left.
She stayed here in the place that she built.
So much of our identity, our best moments,
the reason fans fell in love with the team. It's her.
[fan] One more year!
[young fan] One more year, please!
[crowd chanting] One more year! One more year!
[car horn honks]
[Diana] Leo, you checking these buildings out?
[Leo] Yeah. The buildings are taller than downtown.
[Diana] What did Bill text?
He said, "Hey, Diana, it's Bill.
Congrats on knowing when to go."
-[laughs] -Oh, my God.
So typical.
[man] That's funny.
Well, it's time to go.
[city traffic noise]
[Diana] I've always had the mind set of I'm fighting everyone.
'Cause I know what we have to do to win.
[gentle piano music]
So, I don't feel like I have to fight anymore.
-Good morning. How are ya? -[woman 8] Good morning.
[Diana] I'm gonna do all these things that I've wanted to do
without worrying about coming back to something.
Whether it's friendships, digging in more to my family…
It's always been right there, and I gotta go.
Let's get a picture right here.
-[Penny] Yeah. -Come on. Do your best late night face.
[Penny laughs]
You got late night hair. Let's go.
-[Isla babbling] -This guy.
[shutter clicking]
Endings are a little overrated.
Everyone wants the perfect situation.
And you'll never have that. You won't have it in life,
and you definitely won't have it in basketball.
When the ending is here, it's here.
And you just move forward.
[woman 9] Would you please give it up for the one and only, Diana Taurasi!
[crowd cheering]
[closing music playing] se give it up for the one and only, Diana Taurasi!