Diana Taurasi offers her version of short-lived idea with Sue Bird to join NY Liberty

Blame it on the alcohol.

The momentary idea between Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird to become WNBA teammates was strictly from Russia with love and basketball. They didn't have the heart to leave their respective teams, the Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm, for the New York Liberty last decade.

During Taurasi's Phoenix Mercury retirement press conference on Thursday, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer gave her side of Sue Bird's backstory told on her "A Touch More" podcast episode last week. The story was about them briefly wanting to join forces in New York during the "2012-13 range" when they were UMMC Ekaterinburg teammates in the Russian League.

“I believe it’s called ‘pleading the fifth’ on that one,” Taurasi said while drawing laughs.

She meant the Fifth Amendment to avoid admission of guilt, not a fifth-gallon bottle of Russian vodka that might've fueled their plan.

Bird said this idea happened when they had been drinking at dinner together during the WNBA offseason.

“You got a lot of time on your hands when you’re overseas and I’m sure we had a conversation about, you know, we play overseas together, we play on the Olympic team together," Taurasi said.

Taurasi and Bird are best friends and were each other's toughest opponents during their WNBA careers, 20 years for Taurasi, 19 for Bird.

They starred as UConn's All-American backcourt from 2000-02, and led the Huskies to become college basketball's last undefeated title team in 2002. That's the same year Bird entered the WNBA as Seattle's No. 1 overall pick. Taurasi was Phoenix's top overall pick two years later.

Bird and Taurasi won three straight Russian League titles from 2012-2014. They won five Olympic medals together for Team USA from 2004-21, and Taurasi eclipsed Bird's formerly tied five-gold record with a sixth at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Taurasi led the Mercury to three titles, including their final in 2014. Bird holds four total titles with the Storm before she retired in 2022. Taurasi and Bird faced each other in 46 regular-season and playoff matches. Bird finished ahead of Taurasi on a 25-20 record in the regular season, but Taurasi has an 8-6 playoff record edge over her. They never faced each other in the WNBA Finals.

Diana Taurasi told @jeffmetcalfe about possibly podcasting like her friends Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe and “drinking a lot of wine in the next 2-3 weeks” with them.

Taurasi also told @azcsports her side of Bird’s story on @atouchmore of their one-night plan to join NY Liberty. pic.twitter.com/aHzgPNbXdk
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) March 13, 2025

Taurasi went deeper about their frustrations playing for Phoenix and Seattle at that time. They won two titles each for the franchises before pondering their departures to New York.

“I think at that particular time in both of our WNBA careers, we were probably both cranky and unhappy about how things were going,” Taurasi said. “And I think that was just the competitive side of both of us always wanting to win and always thinking if it’s a move here, a chance to win here, we’d always do it.”

Taurasi doesn’t fully remember the intricacies of that “short-lived conversation” with Bird, who said the idea was quickly scrapped the next day when clearer heads prevailed.

Taurasi grinned as she vaguely recalled the idea of creating the WNBA's most iconic duo, driven to win a championship in The Big Apple.

“It would’ve been amazing to play with Sue,” Taurasi said. “Who wouldn’t want to play with the best point guard ever? I always said if there’s one player that always worried about everyone else and themselves last, it was always Sue. That’s why her teams have always been incredible.”

In addition, Taurasi praised Bird and her wife, USWNT soccer legend Megan Rapinoe, for using their platform as women's sports icons to tell stories on their podcast. Taurasi and Bird have their "Bird and Taurasi Show" on ESPN as simulcasted commentators during the women's basketball Final Four and NBA games since 2023.

As for the beverages, Taurasi also whimsically said she looks forward to “drinking a lot of wine in the next two to three weeks” in her retirement with Bird and Rapinoe.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Taurasi recalls her, Bird's plan to exit Mercury, Storm for NY Liberty

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