Scoring milestones in Diana Taurasi's career on the way to 10,000 points
Phoenix Mercury Diana Taurasi (3) celebrates after making her 10,000th career point during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Atlanta Dream, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Phoenix. Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, is the only player in league history to reach the 10,000 point milestone. Credit: AP/Matt York
Diana Taurasi became the first WNBA player to eclipse 10,000 points in the regular season. She's played her entire 20-year career with the Phoenix Mercury since being drafted in 2004 out of UConn. Here are some of the 41-year-old's scoring milestones:
May 20, 2004 — Taurasi scored the first points of her WNBA career on a jump shot
Aug. 18, 2005 — Scored her 1,000 career point on a baseline jumper
May 5, 2007 — scored her 2,000th point on a jump shot
July 8, 2008 — Hit a free throw for her 3,000th point — becoming fastest to reach that mark
Sept. 5, 2009 — made a 3-pointer for her 4,000th career point
July 15, 2011, — made a free throw to become the fastest player to reach 5,000 points, doing it in her 243rd game to surpass Lauren Jackson's mark by 16 games.
Aug. 11, 2013 — scored her 6,000th point on a layup
June 24, 2016 — hit a jumper for her 7,000th point
June 18, 2017 — made a layup to break Tina Thompson's record with her 7,489th point. The game was in Los Angeles where Taurasi grew up. Her childhood idol Kobe Bryant was in attendance and dubbed her the “White Mamba.”
June 5, 2018 — had a 3-point play against New York for her 8,000th point
June 27, 2021 — scored 25 points against Los Angeles in her first game back after missing a month with a fractured sternum to surpass 9,000.
Aug. 3, 2023 — hit a 3-pointer early in the third quarter to reach 10,000 points.
