Diana Taurasi set for Paris Olympics, trying to become first basketball player to win 6 gold medals

PHOENIX (AP) — Diana Taurasi joked after the Tokyo Olympics that she would see everyone in Paris. The 42-year-old guard turned the joke into reality; she’ll be playing in a record sixth Olympic games when the U.S. women’s basketball team goes for its eighth consecutive gold medal later this month.

“Why not? I say this all the time, if i sign up to play, I sign up to play,” she said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t love how my last Olympics went personally. I think as a team we still have a lot to prove. I love playing USA Basketball. You play with the best in the world. Basketball is a team sport and if you have the opportunity to play with the best in the world, I’ll always sign up.”

Taurasi has been a mainstay on the Olympic women’s team since graduating from UConn in 2004 and leading the Huskies to three consecutive NCAA championships. The WNBA’s all-time scoring leader with over 10,000 points, Taurasi is still playing at a high level. The Phoenix Mercury All-Star is averaging 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in her 20th season in the WNBA.

“No one has done it more than her. There’s no substitute for that level of experience,” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We’re going to count on her voice and that experience she has is incredible and valuable.”

Taurasi is currently the fourth all-time leading scorer in Olympic history with 414 points. She’s 74 points behind her former teammate Lisa Leslie for the top spot on the American list. She already is the all-time leader in games played already with 38.

Paris Olympics

• The Olympics are more than fun and games. They’re a billion-dollar business with political overtones.
• Breakdance will make it’s debut as an Olympic sport in Paris. Here’s what else will be different at this year’s games.
• Follow all of AP’s coverage of the Summer Games.

Her teammates respect her knowledge and insight as there’s very little she hasn’t seen during her time playing on the international stage.

“She’s seen it all,” U.S. teammate Breanna Stewart said. “She knows exactly what to say before the coaches even come into the locker room.”

Besides winning the five gold medals, Taurasi’s favorite Olympic memory was the opening ceremonies at her first one in Athens in 2004.

“The whole world is watching this and when they call out all the countries and the U.S. lines up, there’s this togetherness you don’t get very often in sports,” she said. “Every single walk of life, every discipline in sports is all in one place. It’s pretty special. That moment is special at every Olympics.”

So is winning. Taurasi doesn’t know what it’s like to lose at the Olympics.

The U.S. has never lost an Olympic game that Taurasi’s competed in, going 38-0 during that stretch. That streak dates back even further that Taurasi; the last loss by the Americans was in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Taurasi said winning is engrained in the culture of USA Basketball.

“You always have to wait your turn,” she said. “In ‘04 I was getting Lisa (Leslie) and Dawn (Staley) donuts. Learning the ropes. ... I tried to soak up all the knowledge I could. Then as I progressed in my career I got more responsibility. I became one of the leaders. I think that’s what USA B does so great. It’s not forced, it just happens which makes it even better.”

Taurasi smiled when asked about the 2028 Olympics, which will be played in her hometown of Los Angeles. As much as she would love to play in front of her home fans, she’ll be 46 at that point.

“I’m just as addicted to basketball right now as I was when I was 15 playing in my driveway. I have the same ambitions, the same passion, the same love for it,” she said. “I show up every single day in Phoenix at the practice facility at 7:30 a.m. ready to go. That’s how I treat it.

“However, when it’s done it’s done.”

If this will be Taurasi’s last Olympics, as Coach Reeve says, no basketball player has done it more — or better — than Taurasi.