Diana Taurasi’s potential last regular-season game had emotions, but not a retirement announcement

We don’t know for sure if Diana Taurasi is retiring.

We do know the Phoenix Mercury’s regular-season finale against the Seattle Storm on Thursday felt a little different. We know that every person in the crowd received a special T-shirt featuring the words “If this is it.” We know the Mercury had a special video tribute to Taurasi prepared for the end of the game. We know Taurasi checked in the final minutes to a standing ovation. And we know Taurasi had some words of love for that crowd in return when it was all over.

But we don’t know for sure if she’s retiring.

The Mercury certainly operated as if the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer just played her final regular-season game, an 89-70 loss to the Seattle Storm in a game that meant nothing for their playoff seeding.

Taurasi finished the game with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting with two assists. She checked out in the third quarter, with Phoenix down 14, and didn’t return until nearly the end of the fourth quarter. That was at the request of a Footprint Center crowd chanting “DT.”

Smiling while shaking her head, Taurasi waved to the crowd before checking in.

As the game ended, the Mercury crowd chanted “One more year” to the 42-year-old Taurasi. They were soon watching the Mercury’s tribute video, featuring Taurasi’s wife Penny Taylor, agent Lindsay Colas, teammate Brittney Griner and sister Jessika Taurasi.

Taurasi proceeded to address the crowd with what certainly sounded like a retirement speech, but again, we don’t know for sure:

The crowd interrupted Taurasi when she first said “If it is the last time.” Taurasi responded with her trademark dry humor and a dig at former UConn teammate Sue Bird, who retired two years ago and was in attendance: “I think they tricked Sue with that one last time.”

If Taurasi really is retiring — and we still don’t know! — she will get at least one more chance to play in front of the Phoenix crowd next Friday when the Mercury host the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of their first-round series.