Diana Taurasi tired to address the Phoenix Mercury crowd, but was interrupted. They wanted her to play one more year.

When the game ended, the lights dimmed in the seating areas as the spotlight beamed on Taurasi at center court. Before she addressed the crowd, a tribute video for Taurasi played on the screen above. It was the same video that the Mercury social media account posted to X on Thursday afternoon, teasing a potential retirement announcement.

When Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts walked down the sideline to where Diana Taurasi was sitting late in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 89-70 loss to the Seattle Storm, he had to summon the help of Brittney Griner,