Phoenix Mercury’s Diana Taurasi retires after 20 WNBA seasons, 3 titles and 6 Olympic golds

PHOENIX: 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 minizeries, 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.”

The 42-year-old won her sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games and finishes her WNBA career with 10,646 points, nearly 3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles.

“I thank Diana for everything that she has brought to the WNBA — her passion, her charisma and, most of all, her relentless dedication to the game,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “She leaves a lasting legacy and the future of the WNBA is in a great position because of her impact, that will be felt for