What was the moment you knew it was time to retire from basketball after 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury? I start my preseason workouts Jan. 1. I really dial in. I just didn't have it in me. That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away.
How are you feeling about the decision? Mentally and physically, I'm just full. That's probably the best way I can describe it. I'm full and I'm happy.
Do you think you are the greatest women's basketball player of all time? I have a résumé. It's not up to me to grade it.
You have scored more points than any other player in WNBA history, and also hold the record for most Olympic titles won by a basketball player. Do you think those records are safe? My scoring record, or the six gold medals, someone's going to come around that has the same hunger, the same addiction to basketball, and put those records in a different way, a different name. That's what sports is all about. That's going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon.
Going back to your childhood in Southern California—what drew you to basketball? As a little kid, being a kid of immigrants coming to this country, basketball always made me feel a part of something. It always made me feel comfortable. It brought me to a place where, you know, I could love others. I could love myself. It really is, to me, the one thing that always loved me back.
You won three WNBA championships, in 2007, 2009, and 2014. Were any of those the most important or transformative? In '07, we were a bunch of kids, we had no goals of winning a championship. And then '09 was just an incredible team. When you win one title, you think you're going to be in the finals every year. That's just not the case. So 2014 and the way we did it, the most wins at the time ever in WNBA history, that just said a lot about what we were building in Phoenix.
You spent WNBA offseasons playing overseas in Turkey and Ru...
How are you feeling about the decision? Mentally and physically, I'm just full. That's probably the best way I can describe it. I'm full and I'm happy.
Do you think you are the greatest women's basketball player of all time? I have a résumé. It's not up to me to grade it.
You have scored more points than any other player in WNBA history, and also hold the record for most Olympic titles won by a basketball player. Do you think those records are safe? My scoring record, or the six gold medals, someone's going to come around that has the same hunger, the same addiction to basketball, and put those records in a different way, a different name. That's what sports is all about. That's going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon.
Going back to your childhood in Southern California—what drew you to basketball? As a little kid, being a kid of immigrants coming to this country, basketball always made me feel a part of something. It always made me feel comfortable. It brought me to a place where, you know, I could love others. I could love myself. It really is, to me, the one thing that always loved me back.
You won three WNBA championships, in 2007, 2009, and 2014. Were any of those the most important or transformative? In '07, we were a bunch of kids, we had no goals of winning a championship. And then '09 was just an incredible team. When you win one title, you think you're going to be in the finals every year. That's just not the case. So 2014 and the way we did it, the most wins at the time ever in WNBA history, that just said a lot about what we were building in Phoenix.
You spent WNBA offseasons playing overseas in Turkey and Ru...
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Time (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 24, 2025