Kahleah Copper was traded to the Phoenix Mercury in 2024 in time for Diana Taurasi's 20th and final season.
The two shared only one season as teammates, but Taurasi welcomed Copper with open arms and helped usher in a new era for Phoenix.
When Copper went to the Paris Olympics, Taurasi and Kelsey Plum were Copper's shooting partners. After Copper didn't play in a group game against Belgium, she felt down on herself.
"I'm missing my shots and she's like, 'You're good.' And I'm like, 'Whatever,'" Copper said. "She goes, 'You're going to win a game for us.'
I'm like, 'OK, I'm going to win a game.'"
Copper helped the U.S. secure gold by making free throws at a crucial point.
"I'm just being me and thinking about those words that she shared with me; it was
special," Copper said.
DeWanna Bonner, who played 10 seasons with Taurasi and won two championships with her, said she always knew their team had a chance to win because they had Taurasi.
"I felt like whenever we stepped out on the court, we were like, 'We got Dee, so we're going to be fine,'" Bonner said. "I don't know what kind of pressure that is to put on her , but she handled it with grace. She gave the whole team that energy."
Bonner and Copper were two of the 20 members of Taurasi's Mercury teams who surprised the WNBA's all-time leading scorer during the postgame ceremony of her Ring of Honor induction on Sunday, Aug. 16.
Representing 2004-24, Taurasi's teammates, coaches, and general managers included Anna DeForge, Lisa Harrison, head coach Paul Westhead, general manager Ann Meyers Drysdale, Le'Coe Willingham, Tangela Smith, Bridget Pettis, Corey Gaines, Alexis Hornbuckle, Shay Murphy, Brittney Griner, Monique Currie, Sancho Lyttle, Julie Hairgrove, Bria Hartley, general manager Jim Pitman, Yvonne Turner and Megan DiLeo.
Taurasi felt emotions walking into the arena because of her deep connection to Phoenix and those people surrounding the Mercury organization.
"When I walk in, I don't see strangers," Taurasi said, "I see employees, friends, people that I go to dinner with, people I text regularly with. Annie (Meyers Drysdale) sends me a happy birthday card every year. This isn't just something I showed up to and said, 'Oh, let's see what I can do here at this arena.'"
In front of a crowd of 16,513 at Mortgage Matchup Center, Taurasi drew a lot of famous faces, including Devin Booker, Brittney Griner, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Phelps and Sheryl Swoopes.
"I treat this like my family, my extended family," she said. "That's why I walk in today, and I'm really emotional because I feel like I need to be giving back that same love back to them because without them, none of this is possible. It takes a lot of people to have a 20-year career. I talk about loyalty a lot, and that only works as a two-way street , and I've always had that here."
Former Mercury play-by-play announcer Kevin Ray, founding WNBA president Val Ackerman, USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley, Pitman and Taurasi's wife and former teammate Penny Taylor took turns speaking about Taurasi's impact during the postgame ceremony.
"The WNBA is taking off and it would not be where it's at without DT and the work she put in and the great things she's done," Mercury and Suns owner Mat Ishbia said during the halftime ceremony.
When Taurasi retired in 2025, she walked away not only as the WNBA's all-time leading scorer but as a six-time Olympic gold medalist.
She's added to her mythos with her personality. Known for her relentless physicality and being one of the best trash talkers in WNBA history, Taurasi's opponents, including current Mercury star Alyssa Thomas, knew she was off limits.
"Nah, you don't talk trash to Dee," Thomas said. "That's how you get her going. That's one person you leave alone and she plays on a different level. I feel like there's certain people you talk trash to and it just takes it to another level, so you leave her alone."
Her trademark humor showed up in her postgame speech, which she began by pretending to read "Green Eggs and Ham" and then followed up by saying she didn't know if she'd suit up for the Mercury or not.
But Taurasi had previously said that seeing her number go up into the rafters was the finality she needed for her storied career.
"When that number goes up there, you can't use it anymore. It's done," Taurasi said. "So if there was any competitiveness in me, I think today it goes up in the rafters forever , and it feels really good to know that."
Fire spoil Taurasi's celebration, take down Mercury in fourth quarter
The Portland Fire rallied to take down the Mercury, 88-85, surviving a Thomas one-legged 3-pointer in the final 5.5 seconds that cut the Fire lead to one.
Thomas' heave was only the third 3-pointer of her 13-year, 393-game career. She's now 3 for 30 all time from beyond the arc.
Fire forward Bridget Carleton's two made free throws extended the lead to three, and Sami Whitcomb missed a 3-pointer on Phoenix's final possession.
Thomas nearly had a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Bonner finished with a team-leading 23 points and six rebounds.
The Mercury (13-23) are nearing elimination from the playoffs with 7 1/2 games between them and the eighth playoff spot and eight games remaining. Phoenix continues its six-game homestand Saturday, Aug. 22, against the Atlanta Dream.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Big names help Mercury celebrate Diana Taurasi with jersey retirement
