Diana Taurasi reminisces about major Kobe Bryant moment as she dazzles in suit with her wife & parents in collab with $2.26T tech giant

Diana Taurasi reflected on a major Kobe Bryant moment in an Instagram story. Taurasi shared a picture of a rug, likely used for the promotion of her new docuseries, with Amazon, a $2.26 trillion tech giant.

The rug lists Taurasi’s most significant achievements throughout her legendary basketball career, spanning over two decades. The last line pays tribute to the admiration Kobe Bryant had for Taurasi:

“Kobe Bryant named Diana Taurasi the “White Mamba”' and she proved it every step of the way.”

The rug lists the following accomplishments:

6x Olympic Gold medalist
2x WNBA Finals MVP
10,646 points (First WNBA player to reach 10,000 points)
7x Russian League titles
11x WNBA All-Star
#1 Overall (2004 WNBA draft)
WNBA MVP (2009)
3x World Cup medalist
3x NCAA Champion
6x Euro League Champion
5x scoring titles
All-Time WNBA field goals leader
All-Time WNBA 3-Pointers leader
Wade Trophy (2003)
2x Most Outstanding Player (NCAA Final Four)
2x Naismith College Player of the Year

Taurasi also shared pictures with her wife and parents from their time at the premiere of her docuseries on Monday. The WNBA legend rocked a white suit, while her wife hit the carpet wearing a black suit.

Kobe Bryant was one of the biggest advocates of women’s basketball and a big fan of Diana Taurasi. In a January 2020 interview with CNN, Bryant named Taurasi as one of three WNBA players he believed could make the jump to the NBA.

“There’s a lot of players with a lot of skill that could do it,” Bryant said. “Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Elena Della Donne. There’s a lot of great players out there so they could certainly keep up with them (The men’s league).”

"It wasn't great": Diana Taurasi on her early years in the WNBA

During a Q&A at the premiere of her docuseries, Taurasi touched upon the challenges she faced during her early years in the WNBA. The Phoenix Mercury legend was in the league for 20 seasons and spent most of her offseasons overseas playing in the Russian league.

"It wasn't great. It was hard, and it was hard for the players, for the coaches, for the staff. It was hard for the fans. You couldn't watch a game, you couldn't find footage. That was hard for everyone who loved the WNBA. It was hard to come back every summer and do that.”

Despite the WNBA's growing popularity, many players still choose to play overseas during the offseason due to increased salaries and improved benefits.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan