Diana Taurasi Wins 2012 ESPY for "Best WNBA Player"
Published on July 12, 2012 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Phoenix Mercury News Release
PHOENIX - Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi won the ESPY for "Best WNBA Player" last night at the 2012 ESPY Awards. For Taurasi, it marks her sixth career ESPY award and third consecutive in the category for "Best WNBA Player". The University of Connecticut alum also twice won "Best Female College Athlete (2003 and 2004) and in 2004 was named "Best Female Athlete" after leading the Huskies to their third consecutive NCAA National Championship.
Taurasi, who has missed all but two games this season with a strained left hip flexor, has led the WNBA in scoring in each of the last four seasons and five of the last six seasons. In 2011, the five-time All-Star won the closest scoring race in league history, edging Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry by .07 points per game on the last day of the regular season. On July 15, 2011 she became the fastest player in league history to score 5,000 career points (243 games) and on July 28, just the second WNBA player with 5,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists.
For her efforts last season she was named to the All-WNBA First Team for the seventh time in her career and was honored as one of the WNBA's 15 greatest players of all-time during last season's 15th anniversary celebration.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Taurasi will join Team USA on Saturday in pursuit of the team's fourth straight Olympic gold medal. She will be available to the media, along with Seattle's Sue Bird, prior to Friday's game against the Storm. The press conference will be held at 5:30 p.m. PT in the Central room on the event level of US Airways Center. Tipoff for the game is 7 p.m.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 12, 2012
- Diana Taurasi Wins 2012 ESPY for "Best WNBA Player" - Phoenix Mercury
- Fever Annual Bowling Tournament Set for July 25 - Indiana Fever
- New York Liberty & the College Board Announce New First-Time Marketing Partnership - New York Liberty
- Chicago Sky's Ruth Riley Receives WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for June - WNBA
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