The WNBA's history is filled with outstanding players. Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, and the rest of the Houston Comets dominated early on. As the league caught up, more teams and players became break-out stars.
Two of those players were the Seattle Storm's ace point guard Sue Bird , and the Phoenix Mercury's hot-shot guard Diana Taurasi . They defined a generation of women's basketball because they were the biggest names in the league and were part of a rivalry.
"For me and her, there are a lot of big games that we competed against each other. We played in the Playoffs, I think four or five different series. I've gotten the best of her, she's gotten the best of me," Bird said on All the Smoke. "Thank God I didn't have to guard her a** though. It's always somebody else's problem because she's tough; she doesn't lose in those moments."
Bird and Taurasi have a long history with each other
While they were prominent rivals during their WNBA days, they started as teammates on the iconic UConn Huskies team. Bird was already a junior when Diana joined the team, so they only played two years with each other.
Their time with the Huskies paid off because Bird got drafted first overall in 2002 by the Storm, a team she would be loyal to for two decades. The same goes for Taurasi, who got drafted first two years later by the Phoenix Mercury, the only WNBA team she has played for.
Due to the Storm and Mercury playing in the same conference, Sue and Diana had many duels against each other. Taurasi is ahead in the head-to-head matchup in the Playoffs, as the Phoenix had an 8-6 record against Seattle in the postseason. However, Bird has more championships, with four to DT's three.
They were a fun matchup because they did not guard each other much, but it was a fun style contrast. Diana is more of a scorer, as evidenced by her status as the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and Kobe Bryant giving him the tag of "White Mamba." Sue was a pure playmaker, as she always looked for the best play, which worked since she was teammates with stars like Lauren Jackson and Breanna Stewart.
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The rivalry made the WNBA better
Since the Storm and Mercury were often the contenders, it was inevitable for people to have a matchup between the two. They played each other 101 times from 2004 to 2024 in the regular season, which further improved due to the postseason matchups.
Sue and Diana became iconic players for the WNBA because they were fun and friendly with the advertisers while being superb players on the court. Bird retired earlier, so the younger DT had more wiggle room to operate, making the league better to watch.
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