Mercury's Diana Taurasi retires after 20 seasons, leaving behind a legendary WNBA career

Diana Taurasi is retiring after 20 seasons, ending one of the greatest careers in women's basketball history.

The WNBA's career scoring leader and a three-time league champion, Taurasi announced her retirement on Tuesday in an interview with Time magazine. The Phoenix Mercury — the only WNBA team she played for — also confirmed her decision.

"Mentally and physically, I'm just full," Taurasi told Time. "That's probably the best way I can describe it. I'm full and I'm happy."

With her taut hair bun and supreme confidence, Taurasi inspired a generation of players while racking up records and championships.

Taurasi led UConn to three straight national titles from 2001-04 and kept on winning after the Mercury selected her with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 WNBA draft.

"It's hard to put into words, it really is, what this means. When someone's defined the game, when someone's had such an impact on so many people and so many places. You can't define it with a quote," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "It's a life that is a novel, it's a movie, it's a miniseries, it's a saga. It's the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had as much to do with changing women's basketball as anyone who's ever played the game."

Diana Taurasi, THE Phoenix Mercury Legend