WNBA’s all-time leading scorer returning for 19th year with Phoenix

Diana Taurasi is returning for a 19th season with the Phoenix Mercury, signing a multi-year deal, the team announced Saturday. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

‘Diana Taurasi belongs in a Mercury uniform, and we are grateful for the continued faith she demonstrates in our organization by returning year after year,’ Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said in a statement. ‘We look forward to more accolades, more historic moments, and more wins.”

The 40-year old Taurasi is a 10-time All-Star and three-time WNBA champion. 

She is the WNBA’s all-time leader in field goals and attempts, 3-point field goals, and attempts, and has scored 9,693 points in her career, also a WNBA record. 

The five-time Olympic gold medalist was voted the by fans as the greatest WNBA player of all-time in 2021. She was the first overall pick in the 2004 draft after winning three national championships at Connecticut.

Taurasi averaged 16.2 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds last season for Phoenix, who finished 15-21 and lost in the first round to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.