Diana Taurasi is a 39-year-old professional basketball player from the United States. She is a professional basketball player with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diana Taurasi’s net worth is expected to be approximately $2 million in 2022.
Taurasi was drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 WNBA draught by the Phoenix Mercury. She is one of the finest female basketball players of all time, and in 2011, fans picked her as one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time.
Early Years
Taurasi was born in Glendale, California on June 11, 1982, and grew up in Chino, California with her older sister, Jessika. Mario, her father, was born in Argentina and later played professional soccer in Italy. Liliana, Taurasi’s mother, was also from Argentina and immigrated to the United States with Mario before Taurasi was born.
Taurasi went to Don Antonio Lugo High School and played basketball there. Her abilities as a high school athlete were widely acknowledged. In 2000, she received the Cheryl Miller Award and was awarded the “Parade Magazine” National High School Player of the Year. She was voted the WBCA High School All-America Game MVP and finished fourth in California state history in overall scoring.
Taurasi attended the University of Connecticut after high school and led the squad to three consecutive NCAA championships. Taurasi got numerous prizes and distinctions while there. She won the Honda Sports Award in 2003 and 2004, as well as the Associated Press Player of the Year in 2003. She was also highly appreciated by the state of Connecticut, with state senator Thomas Gaffey recognizing her abilities.
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What is Diana Taurasi’s Net Worth and Salary?
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Diana Taurasi has a net worth of $3.5 million as a professional basketball player. Diana Taurasi’s net worth is the result of her basketball career in the WNBA and for international teams like UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia.
| Net Worth: | $3.5 Million |
| Salary: | $500 Thousand |
| Date of Birth: |
Jun 11, 1982 (40 years old)
|
| Place of Birth: | Glendale |
| Gender: | Female |
| Profession: |
Athlete, Basketball player
|
| Nationality: |
United States of America
|
Taurasi was picked by the Phoenix Mercury in 2004. Taurasi became the seventh player in history to win the WNBA title, the NCAA title, and the Olympic Gold Medal (representing the United States in the Women’s National Basketball League) in her debut season with the Phoenix Mercury.
Over her career, she has received numerous trophies, including NCAA Tournament MVP, WNBA Rookie of the Year, WNBA Most Valuable Player, WNBA scoring champion, and others. Taurasi played for Spartak Moscow, who won four Euroleague championships in a row from 2006 to 2010.
Diana Taurasi has the highest salary in the WNBA, which is $221,000 as of this writing. When she plays for Russian teams, she can easily earn more than $1 million in a single season.
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Career
Taurasi was taken first overall in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury after finishing her college career. The team had an 8-26 record the previous year. Taurasi scored 22 points in her debut game and went on to average 17 points for the season. Despite the fact that the Mercury did not make the playoffs that season, Taurasi was named to the Western Conference All-Star team and was awarded WNBA Rookie of the Year.
She averaged 16 points per game the next season while dealing with an ankle issue. She was chosen an All-Star, but the Mercury failed to make the playoffs again. NBA coach Paul Westhead was hired as the Mercury’s new coach prior to the next season. Cappie Pondexter, another excellent rookie, was also added to the roster. The Mercury was expected to do well in the following season, thanks to Taurasi and another top player, Penny Taylor.
The 2006 season was a watershed moment for Taurasi, who thrived under Westhead’s tutelage. She set a league record for points in a single season and topped the league in scoring. She averaged more than 25 points per game and set a career-high with 47 points in a quadruple overtime win over the Houston Comets. She also established a WNBA record with 121 three-pointers made in a single season. Despite this, the Mercury were unable to make the playoffs.
The Mercury eventually made it to the WNBA playoffs the following season, in 2007, and even went to the Finals, where they faced the defending champions, the Detroit Shock. Taurasi led the team to victory alongside Taylor and Pondexter. The Mercury won the WNBA Finals again in 2009, and Taurasi was voted the WNBA Finals MVP. She was one of just two players in WNBA history to earn a season scoring championship, season MVP, WNBA Championship, and finals MVP all in the same season.
Taurasi has spent her whole WNBA career with the Mercury, despite injuries that have limited her playing abilities on occasion. She had a lot of injuries in 2012, limiting her to only eight games. Due to a strained hip flexor, she was forced to miss the rest of the season. With a 7-27 record that season, the Mercury was the league’s second-worst team.
She returned to the court in 2013, though, and guided the club to the playoffs. She signed a multi-year contract agreement with Mercury in May of 2017. She became the first player in league history to reach 7,000 points, 1,500 rebounds, and 1,500 assists in the same month, and she went on to become the league’s all-time leading scorer in June of that year.
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Personal Life
Taurasi married Penny Taylor after eight years of dating. Before Taylor became the Phoenix Mercury Director of Player Development and Performance, the two were teammates. They married on May 13, 2017, and later revealed their joy in an interview with “People” magazine. Taylor gave birth to the couple’s baby, Leo Michael Taurasi-Taylor, in March of 2018.
Taylor was set to give birth to the couple’s second child, a daughter, in October 2021. But, because the baby was late, Taurasi was forced to depart to play a winner-take-all Game 5 to determine whether her team would go to the WNBA championships in 2021. Taurasi rushed back to Taylor after winning the game, arriving just in time to see the birth of the couple’s first child.