The WNBA‘s all-time top scorer is not messing around.
Diana Taurasi is a living legend, and one of the most successful women’s basketball players of all-time.
A three-time WNBA champion who is the league’s all-time leader in points scored, Taurasi is about to enter her 20th professional season — and she has not held back regarding this year’s hyped rookie class, headlined by Caitlin Clark.
Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury and Clark’s Indiana Fever will not meet until June 30, but Taurasi has wasted no time in putting rookies on notice — even one who attended her beloved University of Connecticut and played under the legendary Geno Auriemma.
Tough love from Taurasi
Taurasi has made clear her feelings that this rookie class, despite all the attention it has received, needs to toughen up and not assume life in the WNBA will be as easy as it was in the NCAA.
During the Mercury’s preseason opener against the Seattle Storm on Tuesday, Taurasi made it a point to hound Seattle guard Nika Muhl — the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft — all over the court.
At one point, Taurasi bulldozed Muhl in the lane and scored a layup through contact. The 41-year-old Taurasi stared at the 23-year-old Muhl, lying on the hardwood, to make sure she understood what had just happened.
Taurasi made no exception for Muhl, even though she played for UConn under Auriemma — the man who recruited Taurasi and watched her lead the Huskies to three consecutive NCAA championships between 2002 and 2004. The five-time gold medalist is living up to her word, and some rookies that Phoenix will face might deal with that behavior worse than others.
Muhl does not appear to be one of those who will hold a grudge against Taurasi. The two embraced following the preseason game — which Seattle won, 85-59 — and Muhl told Taurasi “you were pushing me all over the court.” Taurasi simply pinched the rookie’s cheeks in response.
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