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Welcome everyone.
We are starting the city's celebration

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of Diana Taurasi.
Woo!

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» I like having a drink and certain
things.

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» In the city of Phoenix, we celebrate
people in many ways and one is with

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street signs. For nearly a decade, fans
coming here have been welcomed with a

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street sign bearing Diana Taurasi's
name.

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When the sign first went up, Diana had
just surpassed the great Tina Thompson

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to become the WNBA's all-time leading
scorer.

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Fortunately for Phoenix and for her
fans, she kept going. And it is time to

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update the sign to recognize her
incredible record scores in the city of

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Phoenix and the amount of
baskets that she made.

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She's been a really important of our
city. We are so lucky that the Mercury

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drafted her, number one pick, and that
she spent 20 seasons with us and the

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Phoenix Mercury, becoming the most
decorated Olympian in women's basketball

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and remaining the WNBA's all-time
leading scorer.

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And she's not content with just
greatness on the court. She's also been

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an important contributor to our
community, stepping up for parents and

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families, fighting for equality and
more. We are so grateful to have her

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commitment to the city of Phoenix and
the city of Phoenix is so pleased that

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we can honor her with this street sign.
We're looking forward to unveiling the

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sign which will show her current total
on scoring, more than 10,000 points.

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That number will forever mark her place
in WNBA history and remind the city of

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the countless moments she gave us to
celebrate.

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Diana, your legacy is something we are
proud of in the city of Phoenix. Thank

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you.
>> Great. Thank you.

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I would like
>> And now we'll welcome Josh Bartelstein,

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the CEO of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury.
Thank you.

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» Yeah, that could be good. Yeah.
I'm trying to think of

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» Good morning.
>> Good morning.

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» It's a great day to celebrate the
greatest of all time.

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Now, people throw around that word a
lot, goat.

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The greatest There's only one greatest.
>> She averages

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» standing right behind me.
You can throw around the stats, a

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three-time champ, six gold medals, an
MVP, go on and on and on.

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But DT, she was the ultimate winner. She
cared about winning at the highest

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level, which she did for all 20 years in
the valley. Her loyalty, what she meant

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to the fans, and her teammates, and her
coaches, and what they mean to her, is

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what separates Diana Taurasi.
>> And

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Actually
>> DT, your first basket, you know what it

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was? Do you know who it was against?
>> The Mystics.

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» There you go. First basket, Sacramento
Monarchs.

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Right? Last basket
would be Minnesota Lynx. There was all

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trivia to do this. Minnesota Lynx.
Uh but all along the way, the points,

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the baskets, there were game winners,
there were step-backs, there were

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and-ones looking at the ref.
But those don't capture who DT is. It's

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the moments and memories. And you're
going to see that on Sunday when you

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have people crying because they know
what she means to them and their family.

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All 10,000 6,646
baskets. So it's a privilege, it's an

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honor to be with the greatest, a winner,
a true champion, someone who means so

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much to Phoenix, the one and only Diana
Taurasi. I want to thank Mayor Gallego

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and the city for all they've done for
this as well. DT, floor is yours.

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» Wow,

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Good morning everyone.
Um, first off, I like to thank Bear

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Gallego and and the city of Phoenix. Uh,
this wouldn't be possible without her

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vision. Um,
you know, without her thinking this is

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really important for the for the city,
for the Phoenix Mercury, um, and and all

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the Phoenix, um, community. Josh and
Matt, thank you guys so much. Um, since

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you guys have
really

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taken over the Phoenix organization,
there's been this

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push to really make sure that the legacy
of of this city is portrayed in and not

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only the the players that have played in
this building, but what the city is all

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about and, um,
you know, when I think of the 20 years

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that I I spent here, um,

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I get really emotional cuz I came here
as a little kid. I was 21. I guess

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that's not little, but it was in my
head.

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And I'd never been to Phoenix before. I
had no clue what this city was about.

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And 20 years later, it mirrors all the
things that I thought were important in

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life as a teammate,
in a team, as a daughter, and now as a

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mother.
Um,

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hard-working city,
a community that brings everyone

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together,
and mirrors all the things that it takes

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to be a champion in life
and on the court. Um, and I just hope

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when
people see that last name, it symbolizes

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all the things that it takes,
um,

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to really make it. And that's hard work,
discipline, consistency,

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um, and not only that, a great
community. This wouldn't have been

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possible without everyone that
played at the Phoenix Mercury, worked at

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the Phoenix Mercury, coached at the
Phoenix Mercury, everyone who's been,

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you know, part of the fabric of what
this championship

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community means. And, uh,
you know, it's it's a an amazing thing

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for not only myself, my family,
everyone who loves this team and this

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city, but for the future generation that
can look up there

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um, um and with hard work anything is
possible. So, I want to thank everyone

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who's here today. Um what an amazing
weekend. Um I'm super thankful and

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grateful for everyone.
Uh I feel like every time I come to one

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of these I see some faces I haven't seen
in a long time and that feels really

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good. More than any basket, more than
any championship, it's really the faces

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that that have made this 20 years so
important to me and my family.

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Um
and I I'm really thankful and uh let's

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get this sign unveiled. Here you guys
go.

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» All right, we need Scorch.
Yeah. It's countdown [music] time,

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everyone. If you could help me.
Five, four, three, two, [music]

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one.
>> Yeah.

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Yeah.
>> [music]

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[applause]

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[music]

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» We all good?
Five.

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» [music]

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[music]