Diana Taurasi, the face of the Phoenix Mercury and the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, is getting the full franchise-legend treatment. She will be formally enshrined in the Mercury Ring of Honor on August 16, 2026, during Phoenix’s home game against the Portland Fire, and the night will include retiring her iconic No. 3 jersey. The ceremony will serve as a curtain call on a 20-season run in a Mercury uniform that helped shape the sport in the Valley.
The club has locked in the date and says the night will pack Footprint Center with "Mercury legends, former teammates, coaches and family," according to Phoenix Mercury. Mercury owner Mat Ishbia has already put Taurasi on her own tier, calling her "the greatest of all time" and pointing to her leadership and competitive edge as the standard for the franchise, as reported by 12News.
Taurasi steps away from the game as a three-time WNBA champion, the league’s all-time leading scorer, and a one-franchise star who spent 20 seasons with the Mercury after being taken first overall in the 2004 draft. Those career milestones, and her decision to retire, were widely documented when she called it a career, per AP News. That kind of longevity in one city is rare in pro basketball and is a big part of why the organization is building an entire night around her.
Ring of Honor and the No. 3
The Mercury have confirmed that Taurasi’s No. 3 will be officially retired and added to the franchise’s Ring of Honor next to past inductees Cheryl Miller, Jennifer Gillom, Bridget Pettis, Penny Taylor and Michele Timms, according to CBS Sports. The team plans to bring former teammates and franchise fixtures onto the court for the jersey unveiling and for remarks that should feel as much like a reunion as a ceremony.
What It Means For Phoenix
Mercury president Vince Kozar has gone on record calling Taurasi "the greatest athlete in Arizona history" as the organization reflects on her legacy, a sentiment that has echoed around the Valley. The celebration will follow other local nods to her impact, including the unveiling of two Diana Taurasi Courts inside the team’s downtown practice facility in 2024, coverage that appeared in both AZFamily and Cronkite News. The jersey retirement will be another permanent marker of how fully she is woven into Phoenix sports history.
Tickets for the August 16 game are already on sale through primary outlets and the team’s schedule page, and fans can expect demand to climb as the date gets closer and more details drop about in-arena tributes. For availability and updates, check listings on Ticketmaster and the Mercury’s schedule page.
The induction night is set to be one of the marquee moments on the Mercury's 2026 calendar and a chance for Phoenix to give a loud, final salute to the player who anchored the franchise for two decades. The team says it will roll out more information on special guests and game-night programming as the celebration approaches.
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