This past week by pure chance, my son and I ran into the G.O.A.T. of women’s basketball. Diana Taurasi. If you are unfamiliar with the acronym, G.O.A.T. stands for the “greatest of all time” in whatever sport you may be talking about. Arguments around who the greatest in various sports happen daily. Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus in golf. Lebron or Jordan in men’s basketball. Any number of tennis players on the men’s side could draw consideration. Tom Brady, Serena, and Phelps are undisputable. More on this later, but now but back to Diana…..
I’ve been fortunate enough to interact with Taurasi several times over the years dating back to 2004. That year she played her very first game with the USA National Team in Denver versus Japan, an event our team at Denver Sports produced. There were hall of famers all over the court that night, which was a tune up for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in what would be the first gold medal for Diana. When I’ve been able to interact with her, Diana has always been gracious, engaging, and funny. She has always been very approachable in a day where athletes of her stature often are not. Which brings us to this week’s Huddle Up story.
When we ran into Diana and her son Leo at the neighborhood barbershop (see photo below), I reintroduced myself and reminded her of that Denver game in 2004. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She reminded me that it was her first game with the Olympic Team as she had just capped off her record breaking college careen at UConn (three NCAA titles, two national player of the year awards, three time All-American, you get the idea). We talked about that game and as I was doing so I brought my son Brock (now eight years old) in to introduce him to Diana. The conversation, in typical Taurasi fashion, went like this.
Me: “Brock, this is Mrs. Taurasi, you saw her play on TV this past summer in the Olympics.”
Diana: “Nice to meet you Brock” shaking his hand.
Me: “Brock, Mrs. Taurasi is the only basketball player to ever win four Olympic gold medals.”
Diana leaned over and quietly with a smile said, “It’s actually SIX.” Everyone cracked up as I tried to apologize for the slight.
As we were exchanging our final pleasantries, I said to Diana (whose pending retirement may come soon), “We vote that you play for one more year.” Smiles all around.
During the drive home, Brock asked a few questions about how great a player she is. I said, “Brock, she is the G.O.A.T.” He asked if she had ever played Steph Curry. I explained the differences between the NBA and WNBA, but it needed more context. So when we got home, we looked up some records that he could understand. Here is a quick summary of that discussion comparing Diana to two players Brock knows well…..
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer is Lebron James. The WNBA’s is Diana Taurasi.
The NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made shooting is Steph Curry. The WNBA’s is Diana Taurasi.
If you add up all of Taurasi’s championships in college (3), the WNBA (3), and her gold medals (6), that gives her 12 major wins in her career. Her 12 is the same as Lebron (3 Olympic Golds, 4 NBA titles) and Steph (4 NBA titles and one Olympic Gold) combined. Brock quickly got the idea that she is a great player.
Returning to the greatest of all time discussion. Sometimes talk show hosts or sports fans alike raise the question, who is the G.O.A.T. of ALL the G.O.A.T.s? We could make the case that Taurasi is that person. Not only does her record stand for itself on the court, off it she has been the face of her sport and again, always approachable and kind. While you may say Brady or Serena or Michael Phelps at the top dog (or top G.O.A.T. as it is), I’m going to put my support behind Diana.
May all of our kid’s heroes be as gracious as Diana Taurasi.
And we hope we get to celebrate her for one more year.
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