Mercury, Lynx hail 'one of the GOATs' in possible Taurasi finale - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — At 10:42 p.m. Wednesday, one of the greatest players in basketball history walked off the court for — maybe — the last time.

Diana Taurasi drew her sixth foul with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left in the Phoenix Mercury's 101-88 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of their first-round playoff matchup. In what might have been her final game, the WNBA's all-time scoring leader left the court as players from both teams as well as the Minnesota crowd gave her an ovation.

Taurasi, who finished with 10 points, has not made any official declarations about her future, but the postgame mood seemed to signal a finality to a 20-year run that few athletes in basketball history have matched.

After suffering losses in both games in Minneapolis, Taurasi did not participate in either postgame news conference. But those who've watched her, played with her and competed against her told the story of her unrivaled legacy.

«We'll see what she decides to do,» first-year Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. «It's kind of been her approach the whole way, but personally, I'd just like to thank her [as] a new coach coming into a new league… the way that she welcomed me and helped me through this season. What an opportunity for me to coach the greatest ever, and I'm super thankful for that.»

The Mercury never seemed to find their stride this season, their third straight with a sub-.500 record. They struggled after the All-Star break and stumbled into a first-round matchup against the Lynx, the hottest team in the WNBA in recent months and a franchise that had defeated the Mercury five times in their past six playoff matchups. Lynx star Napheesa Collier elevated her play in this series, totaling 80 points in consecutive games to set a