UConn legend Diana Taurasi inching closer to historic 10,000 career point mark

[Carnac]

July 27, 2023 at 4:54 pm

Diana Taurasi cemented her name in history when she passed Tina Thompson to become the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2017. The UConn legend also leads the league in all-time made field goals and 3-pointers. And with the retirement of fellow Husky Sue Bird following last season, Taurasi is the WNBA’s oldest active player at age 41. Now the 6-foot guard is approaching another milestone: 10,000 career points. A feat no other player in league history has accomplished.

With the records Dee will retire with, the league (out of respect if nothing else) should name an "honorary" award/trophy in her name at some point in the future. Whenever Dee retires with whatever her final career point total is, I'm betting that it will join those hallowed records in the Pantheon of athletic achievement that will never be broken.

UConn legend Diana Taurasi inching closer to historic 10,000 career point mark

A look at former UConn star Diana Taurasi’s historic career and milestone ahead of WNBA game between Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury.

www.courant.com

 

[Carnac]

The Drive 10,000 points - The story of Diana Taurasi's road to immortality.

 

[Skeets]

I think Stewie, if she stays healthy and plays for a real long time, can make a run at 10,000. But even if she falls a little short it would be a heck of a thing to have 2 UConn kids at the top of the heap.

 

[CL82]

Now the 6-foot guard is approaching another milestone: 10,000 career points. A feat no other player in league history has accomplished.

Or even come close to.

 

[YKCornelius]

July 27, 2023 at 4:54 pm

Diana Taurasi cemented her name in history when she passed Tina Thompson to become the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2017. The UConn legend also leads the league in all-time made field goals and 3-pointers. And with the retirement of fellow Husky Sue Bird following last season, Taurasi is the WNBA’s oldest active player at age 41. Now the 6-foot guard is approaching another milestone: 10,000 career points. A feat no other player in league history has accomplished.

With the records Dee will retire with, the league (out of respect if nothing else) should name an "honorary" award/trophy in her name at some point in the future. Whenever Dee retires with whatever her final career point total is, I'm betting that it will join those hallowed records in the Pantheon of athletic achievement that will never be broken.

UConn legend Diana Taurasi inching closer to historic 10,000 career point mark

A look at former UConn star Diana Taurasi’s historic career and milestone ahead of WNBA game between Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury.

www.courant.com

Carnac, as impressive as Diana's superior sustained performance continues to be, there are two things which would suggest DT's final tally will eventually be broken.

The first is the emergence of elite shooters like Caitlin Clark and, to a lesser degree, Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers. For shooters of this caliber, the only factors out of the players control would be the number of games played and the number of injuries. Who knows if there is a female version of Pete Maravich dribbling a basketball in her grade school hallways somewhere.

Which leads to the second issue: league expansion together with season expansion could easily increase the number of games played, which would indicate playing into one's forties might not be necessary. The long-term management of the WNBA must change for that to happen, which might be too big of an ask given the gallimaufry of TV and other marketing ventures currently underway.

 

[darrell]

I think Stewie, if she stays healthy and plays for a real long time, can make a run at 10,000. But even if she falls a little short it would be a heck of a thing to have 2 UConn kids at the top of the heap.

Stewie currently has the second highest career PPG in WNBA history, just .3 points behind Cynthia Cooper.

Maya would have definitely finished in the Top 3-5 had she not retired early.

Tina, as of today, is 4th all-time. I’m not sure what her plans are for the rest of her playing career, but she’s only 373 points away from 2nd.

 

[Carnac]

Carnac, as impressive as Diana's superior sustained performance continues to be, there are two things which would suggest DT's final tally will eventually be broken.

The first is the emergence of elite shooters like Caitlin Clark and, to a lesser degree, Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers. For shooters of this caliber, the only factors out of the players control would be the number of games played and the number of injuries. Who knows if there is a female version of Pete Maravich dribbling a basketball in her grade school hallways somewhere.

Which leads to the second issue: league expansion together with season expansion could easily increase the number of games played, which would indicate playing into one's forties might not be necessary. The long-term management of the WNBA must change for that to happen, which might be too big of an ask given the gallimaufry of TV and other marketing ventures currently underway.

YKC, I'm not nearly as optimistic as you are. I understand and appreciate your take. While I won't argue them, allow me to point out several areas of concern which leads me to believe Dee's career scoring total, once set, will never be broken.

1. Longevity - Dee is 41 years old - this is her 19th year. A player would have to play into their 40s, as Dee has. Very few have.
2. Number of games played - 519 and counting. As of today, Tina Thompson has played 65 more minutes than Dee. Dee will surpass that number in her next two games. Thompson is 2nd all time with 7488 pts. Of all the players that played in the league, no one else had more than 7400 points beside Tina and Dee. 7000 points is a milestone. Only 4 players have reached that mark. Tina Charles, Tamika Catchings, Tina Thompson and Dee.
3. If someone were to break her record, they would have to play an equal number of games, or close to it. Only Sue Bird has played more games, with 580.
4. Said player, as you suggested, would have to be a "consistent" prolific scorer for close to two decades.....as Dee has.

For all these reasons, I would be shocked if this record was ever broken. Of all the hundreds of players that have played in the league, how many have played past their 40th birthday? There have been a few. The record breaker will have to. The thrill of competition is usually gone for most players by the time they reach their mid to late thirties.

Dee is and as been a starter her entire career. She has played enough minutes to reach this goal. There's also the question of health. Dee has been blessed with a relatively injury free career. If a player were to break her record, she too would have to have a long injury free career. YKC, I think this one (once set) stands the test of time.

Active players chasing Dee.
1. Dewanna Bonner (age 36) with 6634 pts
2. Candace Parker (age 37) with 6574 pts
3. Nneka Ogwumike (age 33) with 5661 pts.
Below is a list of the top 50 all-time scoring leaders in the WNBA

All Time Leaders

The all time official leaders for the NBA.

stats.wnba.com

 

[Carnac]

Why Diana Taurasi is working so hard to stay on court this season and beyond​

'If I half-ass it, it's not going to look pretty': Why Taurasi is working so hard to stay on court

After battling injuries each of the past four seasons, Diana Taurasi is determined to stay on the court, totally modifying her training to stay healthy at 40.

www.espn.com

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[Carnac]

No matter when she does it, their next 3 games are at home, so Dee will do it in front of her home crowd. Dee should eclipse 10,000 points against the Seattle Storm on August 5. If she hasn't done it before then, that game should be sold out, and on national TV. She shouldn't need more than 3 games to do it. She can do it in 2 if she averages 23.5 the next 2 games. Since she passed Tina Thompson, every time she scores, she sets a new WNBA career scoring record. Is this it for Dee, or does she come back for one more season?

 

[Carnac]

After last night's game. Dee is only 18 points away from 10,000. Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 72-71 on Tuesday night to spoil Diana Taurasi's 29-point performance.

Fever 72-71 Mercury (Aug 1, 2023) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the Indiana Fever vs. Phoenix Mercury WNBA game from August 1, 2023 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[Rb335]

July 27, 2023 at 4:54 pm

Diana Taurasi cemented her name in history when she passed Tina Thompson to become the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2017. The UConn legend also leads the league in all-time made field goals and 3-pointers. And with the retirement of fellow Husky Sue Bird following last season, Taurasi is the WNBA’s oldest active player at age 41. Now the 6-foot guard is approaching another milestone: 10,000 career points. A feat no other player in league history has accomplished.

With the records Dee will retire with, the league (out of respect if nothing else) should name an "honorary" award/trophy in her name at some point in the future. Whenever Dee retires with whatever her final career point total is, I'm betting that it will join those hallowed records in the Pantheon of athletic achievement that will never be broken.

UConn legend Diana Taurasi inching closer to historic 10,000 career point mark

A look at former UConn star Diana Taurasi’s historic career and milestone ahead of WNBA game between Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury.

www.courant.com

Only thing the could put the record back within reach is the continually expanding WNBA regular season schedule.

For most of her career, Taurasi in the era of 34 game seasons. Last season the league expanded to 36, and this year up to a record 40. Engelbert has also gone on record saying they’d like to get to 44 regular season games in the near future.

If you get another high scoring player with durability, I could see someone getting within striking distance someday.

But it would take the perfect conditions, which is a testament to how impressive Taurasi’s scoring mark is.

 

[Carnac]

Only thing the could put the record back within reach is the continually expanding WNBA regular season schedule.

For most of her career, Taurasi in the era of 34 game seasons. Last season the league expanded to 36, and this year up to a record 40. Engelbert has also gone on record saying they’d like to get to 44 regular season games in the near future.

If you get another high scoring player with durability, I could see someone getting within striking distance someday.

But it would take the perfect conditions, which is a testament to how impressive Taurasi’s scoring mark is.

You are correct..........but (there’s always a but..) the record is a CAREER record, but the real record would be to score more points in the same number of games Dee played or less.

As you suggest. If the league continues to expand the schedule, it would increase the possibility of her record being broken. There are some MLB records that we know will never be broken because the landscape and the way the game is played today have changed, and changed forever.

I could be wrong.....but I’m betting this one stands. If it is broken, I hope it’s by a UConn alum. Keep it in the family.

Don’t think her teammates aren’t aware of her being this close. They will be feeding her the ball until she cracks that 10,000-point barrier.

 

[Geew1992]

 

[Carnac]

I just saw a piece about Dee on ESPN’s SportsCenter leading up to tonight’s record-setting game. While Dee is poised to surpass the 10,000-point barrier in the WNBA, what’s really impressive is the career number of points she has scored (they did not say or suggest what that total is) since her freshman year in high school, including points scored in AAU, FIBA, college, overseas, and USA Olympic play.

Would those “career” totals added to her WNBA totals be out of reach by anyone? Would it be fair to say that if those other career numbers were added to her WNBA numbers, she could be recognized as the greatest women’s basketball player of all time?

 

[Blueballer]

I think the real sad situation when reflecting on Diana's career is that we in the USA missed out on a lot of her best basketball games. She and Sue played so many games for the Russia team and there were some spectacular performances by both of them and together that we never got to see.

 

[Blueballer]

Obviously there is a great chance Diana will get to 10,000 tonight. Outrageous that such a milestone will ONLY be viewable on Amazon Prime. Nothing against them but because of the history this should be on more widely available TV/Streaming. The NBA would never limit an acheivement like this to Amazon Prime.

 

[Carnac]

9:29 left in the 3rd quarter. Dee is at 12 points, needs 6 more. she's 5/10 fg.

It's done!! Dee reaches 10,000 points at the 8:23 mark in the 3rd qtr.
Too bad this game was not on regular TV. Not too many people have Prime TV. It would have been fun to watch her live break that milestone.

Mercury 91-71 Dream (Aug 3, 2023) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Phoenix Mercury vs. Atlanta Dream WNBA game, final score 91-71, from August 3, 2023 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[Carnac]

 

[Carnac]

ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.

Visit ESPN for live scores, highlights and sports news. Stream exclusive games on ESPN+ and play fantasy sports.

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Dee got the history making basket on an assist from UConn alum Moriah Jefferson.

Taurasi first in WNBA to reach 10K career points

It was a historic night for Mercury star Diana Taurasi, who became the first WNBA player to reach 10,000 career points and the oldest to score 40 in a game.

www.espn.com

 

[choclate45]

Wait did Diana say she barley played her freshman year at Uconn? That's funny.

 

[Blueballer]

What an AWESOME throwback game back for Diana. First time she scored 40 or more since 2010. 42 points and over 40 years old. That's crazy. Oh yeah and she went over 10K career tonight. Just a fantastic performance for the GOAT.

 

[ochoopsfan]

 

[Carnac]

Obviously there is a great chance Diana will get to 10,000 tonight. Outrageous that such a milestone will ONLY be viewable on Amazon Prime. Nothing against them but because of the history this should be on more widely available TV/Streaming. The NBA would never limit an acheivement like this to Amazon Prime.

Who knew when this game was scheduled to be televised "exclusively" on Prime that it would be a record setting game? Luck of the draw. This game was scheduled to be televised on Prime BEFORE the season began. If possible, the WNBA should have offered Prime another game to televise in place of this one, and put this on ESPN, FS1, NBA-TV or CBSSN, so that the masses could view it. I sure wanted to see it.

 

[wingsfan055]

Congrats DT. Clearly the GOAT of women's basketball when you consider college, WNBA, Olympics, and professional overseas career. Individual records, MVPs, Titles, Gold medals, and Swagger..