Diana Taurasi Had Perfect Joke After Getting Benched in Team USA’s Gold Medal Win

Diana Taurasi wrote herself into history after earning her sixth Olympic gold medal in the U.S. women’s basketball team’s 67-66 win over France on Sunday, but she didn’t exactly play herself into it.

Taurasi, who surpassed former American teammate Sue Bird for most gold medals in Olympic basketball history, was benched for the entirety of the title match. The 42-year-old sat and watched her teammates help clinch the program’s historic eighth consecutive Olympic gold at the Paris Games, with A’ja Wilson and Kahleah Copper putting together efficient performances against a pesky French side.

After the win, Taurasi was asked how it felt to one-up Bird and become Team USA’s reigning leader in Olympic basketball gold medals. 

“Yeah, it’s the only reason I came,” Taurasi said. “It’s funny cause we scored the same amount of points today.”

Though Taurasi didn’t get any time on the court on Sunday, her veteran presence was unmatched this tournament. Since Taurasi’s Olympic debut in the 2004 Athens Games, she has won every game at the Olympics that she’s competed in (44 of Team USA’s current record-setting 61-game win streak). She is the only American basketball player, men’s or women’s, to play in six Olympics, let alone earn six gold medals. 

Despite Taurasi’s storied legacy, many fans on social media still wondered if Team USA would have been better off bringing a younger playmaker, such as Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, to compete in Paris. 

Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer with 10,447 career points and counting with the Phoenix Mercury, previously confirmed that the 2024 Paris Olympics will be her last Games. Just as she eclipsed Bird chasing down the all-time Olympic basketball gold medal record this summer, someone will be chasing her, now.