Which Women Star Holds the Record for Most Points in a WNBA Final?

It is the subconscious habit of players to make or break different records while playing on the hardwood. In the WNBA, there have been many iconic players who did it. A 3-time WNBA Champion stands at the top of the WNBA All-time Top scorers list.

With this, the White Mamba has added one more milestone to her distinguished 19-year career.

First WNBA player to reach 10,000 points

Although it’s more about winning for Diana Taurasi, milestones and records hold a certain significance in a player’s performance and career. Evidently, she is the only player to touch the 10,000-point mark in the history of the WNBA.

It all happened on 3rd of August 2023, when she hit a long 3-point shot during the third quarter of a game against the Atlanta Dream. Leading her team to victory with a score of 91-71, Diana pushed her total points to 10,024.

However, this was not the first time she did that. Before this, Diana became the WNBA’s all-time leading points scorer in 2017. She surpassed the old record of the Houston Comets’ Tina Thompson. Moreover, two years ago, she became the first player to ever have crossed the 9,000-point mark. It was within a month before winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

At the beginning of the 2023 season, Taurasi had already scored 9, 693 points which was slightly above 300 points short of the record-breaking 10,000 mark. Already being one of the best players in the world of hoops, Diana was voted by her fans as the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), as a part of the WNBA’s 25th Anniversary celebration.

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Over the years, Taurasi has secured multiple WNBA and Olympic titles and it’s her talent that led her to this award.

Taurasi’s long list of awards through her 19-year WNBA career

Her path has always been like that of a star player. Prior to her draft she won the NCAA Championship three times in a row from 2002 – 2004. Drafted as the No.1 overall pick, Diana Taurasi debuted with a score of 22 points in a Mercury loss to the Sacramento Monarchs by 72-66. As a rookie at the time, she averaged 17 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. That year, Diana won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award.

However, little did she know, it was just the beginning of an awesome career. As a part of the Big 3, Diana flourished under the guidance of coach Paul Westhead. In 2006, Taurasi set a WNBA record of 25.3 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game, along with a career-high 47 points in a triple overtime regular season game.

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Taurasi won three WNBA championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014. Moreover, she won 5 Olympic golds from 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. In 2009, she won the WNBA MVP Award and a WNBA Finals MVP Award (she won another one in 2014). Besides winning 3 FIBA World Cups of 2010, 2014, and 2018, she was also selected to 10 WNBA All-Star teams and 14 All-WNBA Teams. In 2011, she was voted as one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All Time by her fans.

Which milestone will be achieved by Diana next? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.