Hey Diana Taurasi, quit making us fortysomethings look bad, OK?
Diana Taurasi, one of the most decorated ballers walking planet Earth, turned 42 years old on June 11.
Amid her 20th season, the Phoenix Mercury superstar shows no signs of slowing down. Never mind that she’s already won three WNBA titles, a league most valuable player award and has been named an all-star 10 times, Taurasi still has gas left in the tank.
I will forever marvel at professional athletes still performing at a high-level post 40. Sue Bird, after two major knee surgeries, was dishing out six assists per game at age 41. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl at a sprightly 43. LeBron James, already the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, will turn 40 in December. Their dedication to the craft and burning desire to win and keep improving is extremely impressive.
Slightly older than Diana, I will turn the big 4-4 in three months. While it’s sometimes difficult to pump myself up to play hoops two or three times a week, Taurasi is averaging 16.6 points per game and logging almost 30 minutes per contest in the friggin’ WNBA! Only four minutes less than her MPG average as a 22-year-old rookie in 2004. While my knees creak pulling down rebounds, the combo guard is grabbing 4.7 a game while dishing out 2.5 assists.
When Taurasi puts on the Team USA jersey and competes for her record sixth gold medal at the Paris Olympics, I’ll be letting out a deep sigh or grunt as I plop my four-decade old carcass on the recliner, more content with watching her and the rest of the U.S. women’s basketball team race up and down the court than actually doing it myself.
As I drag my body out of bed at 4 a.m. to take a piss (yes, I’ve reached that point in life), Diana is likely already up pumping iron in the weight room.
At the age when most athletes have slowed down or been retired for years, there’s Taurasi during last Sunday’s clash with the Indiana Fever, bopping around the court like a fresh-legged 25-year-old. She’s stumbled upon the fountain of youth in the barren Arizona desert.
Sunday’s game was Taurasi’s first meeting with rookie phenom Caitlin Clark. Clark, and the rest of this year’s impressive rookie class, were mere toddlers when Taurasi made her pro debut in 2004. She had already conquered the collegiate basketball universe. While I was slurping up cheap Jell-O shots at dingy college bars in Oshkosh, Taurasi was winning three national championships at UConn.
Last August, Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to eclipse 10,000 career points. Here I am, nursing a sore back from mowing the lawn, while Diana is continuing to put records out of reach.
What’s driving this burst of youthful enthusiasm? What keeps the pilot light lit after reaching the hoops summit time and time again? What motivates Taurasi to keep getting out of bed every morning to chase around 22-year-olds like Clark for 30 minutes a game?
Simple. Love of the game.
“When you get to this age, you probably think about retirement every 10 minutes,” Taurasi told The Next after surpassing 10,000 points last August. “Every time I get to the weight room at 8 a.m. Every time I get on the training table for a message. After this game, I have to go lift. All these things — you think about it, but every morning I wake up wanting to play basketball, wanting to compete, wanting to get this team back on track to win the championship.
All those things are still inside me revving up this uncomfortable little brat that wants to keep playing basketball.”
If this season is Taurasi’s swan song, you wouldn’t know it. She doesn’t want to hear the word retirement. She’s still having too much fun trying to lead a 9-10 Mercury squad back to the playoffs. And, later this summer, trying to capture that coveted sixth gold medal for Team USA.
A funny thing happens when great athletes reach their competitive golden years. As fans, we can’t wait to see them retire, yet we miss them when they’re gone. We recall how amazing they once were and don’t care for anything less. We have those lasting images of an over-the-hill Johnny Unitas, in a droopy San Diego Chargers uniform, getting buried by oncoming blitzers. Of a 41-year-old Brett Favre getting his head driven into the frozen turf in Chicago. An overmatched Muhammed Ali struggling to fend off a younger, quicker Trevor Berbick or a 41-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar huffing and puffing down the court, a few years past his expiration date.
We hope they don’t hang on too long.
But if you’re still able to compete at a high level like Taurasi, why not continue? Play as long as you can because you’re not going to get that time back. Taurasi will know when it’s time to walk away. She should leave the court harboring no regrets. Perhaps it’s fans who have regrets, not having taken the time to savor this legend. While it’s awesome Clark has brought so many new eyeballs to women’s basketball, it’s a shame most of Taurasi’s outstanding career has been largely overlooked by fans and the national media.
But you still have time to watch one of the all-time greats ball out. She’ll be in action Wednesday night against the Dallas Wings, featuring Milwaukee’s own Arike Ogunbowale. Middle age is knocking at the door, but Diana Taurasi is still kicking ass at a kid’s game. Yes, she’s putting us fortysomethings to shame, but it’s inspiring to athletes at any age.