Diana Taurasi finally drew curtains on her all-time great WNBA career on Tuesday, Feb. 25, after months-long speculations surrounding her retirement. Taurasi spent all 20 of her seasons with the Phoenix Mercury and retires as one of the most decorated players in the history of the sport.
The three-time WNBA champion commanded the league’s highest salaries for several years, and as she bids farewell after two decades, let’s examine her earnings.
How Much Did Diana Taurasi Earn During Her 20-Year WNBA Career?
Taurasi was selected No. 1 overall by the Mercury in 2004, and while she spent a significant amount of her time overseas, the 42-year-old finished her WNBA career with $1,385,416 in earnings, per Spotrac.
For most of her 20 WNBA seasons, Taurasi earned league-high salaries and was the fifth-highest-paid player last year with $234,936. She earned a similar salary in the season before that as well after signing a two-year extension worth $469,872 in February 2023.
The 42-year-old earned a league-high $107,000 in 2015 but sat out the entire season at the request of her Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, which paid her around $1.5 million per year.
Taurasi also amassed a significant amount of wealth in off-court deals and has a net worth of $3.5 million in 2025, per Celebrity Net Worth. While her career earnings fade in comparison to NBA players’ salaries, she’s no less than what LeBron James is in the NBA.
Diana Taurasi Earns Touching Tribute From LeBron James on Retirement
Taurasi announced her retirement in an interview with Time Magazine published on Tuesday, Feb. 25. In it, she revealed that she felt mentally and physically fulfilled with her career and thereby decided to retire.
In her retirement announcement, the 42-year-old earned a loving tribute from James, who hailed Taurasi as one of the greatest players of all time and lauded her for elevating the WNBA to new levels.
“Just seeing her transcend the game, watching little girls want to play like her, her style, her flair, her bravado, you know, her swagger, it’s been an unbelievable treat. She’s one of the all-time greatest, and she will leave her mark on the game of basketball the moment she ties those shoes up and throws them over the pole line. It’s been an honor. All love,” the four-time NBA champion told Time.
Taurasi led Phoenix to WNBA titles in 2007, 2009, and 2011 and was also named the MVP in her second championship win. She’s the fastest to score 5,000 points in WNBA history and is the league’s all-time top scorer, with 10,646 points — the only player to cross the 10,000 mark.
Taurasi’s biggest achievement, however, was perhaps her 3-point shooting, connecting on a staggering 1,447 3s, which is over 40% more than the second-best shooter, Sue Bird.
