Phoenix Mercury honor Diana Taurasi, retire No. 3 jersey - ESPN

PHOENIX — For more than 30 minutes after the Phoenix Mercury's 88-85 loss to the Portland Fire, Diana Taurasi held court.

On the same slab of hardwood where she won one of her three WNBA titles, scored her 10,000th point and dazzled fans for 20 seasons, Taurasi reflected on her career with the same deft touch that led her to a Hall of Fame career.

«I really don't know where to start because I don't know where it ends,» Taurasi said. «And tonight feels like the end and the beginning of so many things in my life. Driving to the game today, I didn't know whether I was going to suit up and play, whether it was my funeral, a celebration, and I've come to realize it's all of it and it's amazing. And I wouldn't have it any other way because that's how I live every single day of my life with every single one of those emotions in this building.»

Taurasi said Sunday felt different because she understood the moment felt «big» but she also believed that when her jersey was unveiled during a halftime ceremony, it would come with a bit of closure.

«When your number goes up there, you can't use it anymore,» she said. «It's done. So, if there was any little competitiveness still in me, I think today it goes up in the rafters with the number and it feels really good to know that.»

Above her right shoulder hung her No. 3 jersey high in the rafters at Mortgage Matchup Center as Taurasi gave a speech for the ages. It was part sentimental, part walk down memory lane, part story time, part roast, part comedy show and part a thank-you note to her 20-year career, all with the Mercury.

«It's been 20 years, one city, one team, one jersey, and tonight that No. 3 is on all our backs,» Taurasi concluded.

It was the highlight of a postgame ceremony