By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) – Phoenix Mercury on Monday said guard Diana Taurasi will miss the rest of the WNBA season with a thigh strain, raising the possibility that the future Hall of Famer may have played her last game in the league.
Taurasi, 40, is averaging 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and four assists per game this season, her 18th.
The California native has spent her entire career with the Mercury where she won three championships, was named to 10 All-Star teams and became the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Last month, Taurasi said she would have conversations with her wife and close friends in the offseason before making a decision about retirement.
“When the season ends, I’ll be a free agent and I’ll see what’s best for me,” Taurasi was quoted as saying by CBS Sports.
“I don’t know what that is right now. It’s always something that as you get older as an athlete, you start thinking about and you start really kind of bouncing off ideas on (wife) Penny (Taylor) and my close friends and people that I really respect and trust their opinion.”
The Mercury said they had signed guard Yvonne “Vonnie” Turner to a hardship contract to replace Taurasi as Phoenix (14-19) fights for a playoff spot.
If Taurasi does elect to hang up her high tops, she will join friend and rival Sue Bird, with whom she won five Olympic gold medals.
Four-time champion Bird bid an emotional farewell to fans on Sunday at her final regular-season home game.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
