Best moments from final Sue Bird-Diana Taurasi regular-season matchup: 'Hopefully we put on some good shows over the years'

Nick Metallinos

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Best moments from final Sue Bird-Diana Taurasi regular-season matchup: 'Hopefully we put on some good shows over the years' image

Two WNBA icons faced off against each other for the 46th and final time in the regular season Friday night. 

Sue Bird, in her 19th season in the league, and Diana Taurasi, playing in her 18th season, took to the court in Phoenix and the Mercury came out on top 94-78. 

Bird had one of her quietest games of the season, finishing with just two points, five assists and one rebound. Taurasi had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. 

MORE: Taurasi, Bird have mic'd-up back-and-forth during game earlier in WNBA season

Bird now holds a 25-21 edge in wins over Taurasi. The 46 games are tied for the most head-to-head regular-season meetings between WNBA players.  

The two have faced off 14 times in the playoffs, with Taurasi holding an 8-6 edge there.

Bird and Taurasi could still play against each other should their teams make the 2022 playoffs. The Storm are sitting comfortably at 17-10 despite the loss, but the 12-16 Mercury are shaky with eight games to go after Friday.

Bird, 41, and Taurasi, 40, played their first official game together 22 years ago for the same team: Nov. 12, 2000, in Hartford, Connecticut, for the UConn Huskies. Today, they are the elder statesmen of the WNBA, and Bird was quick to remind Taurasi before the game that she will become the oldest player in the league at season's end. 

"Once I retire, you do realize now, you're the oldest player," Bird joked. "Now, wherever you go, they're going to remind you and they're going to talk about it on TV. I've been keeping it warm for a while now, now it's your turn."

After the game, the duo reflected on the past two decades. 

"Hopefully we put on some good shows over the years," Bird said. "I think we did all right."

Taurasi echoed those sentiments. 

"In any profession, when you get to do something with your best friend for 20 years, life's good," she said. 

Best moments from Bird vs. Taurasi 

Before the game, the Mercury presented Bird, a known sneakerhead, with a custom pair of Air Jordan 1s in Storm colors. 

Getting ready for the final battle:

Bird was dropping dimes early:

The Sue Bird special:

From one icon to a future icon:

Taurasi's stepback is just as smooth now as it was in Year 1:

Sue Bird checks out for the final time in Phoenix:

Taurasi getting it done on both ends:

How do Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi compare? 

* Totals do not include Friday's game

 GamesPointsReboundsAssistsFG%3-PT%FT%
Sue Bird57011.82.55.6.429.393.852
Diana Taurasi49919.33.94.3.428.363.871

Nick Metallinos

Nick Metallinos Photo

Nick has been working exclusively within the NBA world for over a decade. He hosted 46 episodes of Ball or Nothin' - a show screened on ESPN highlighting the social media aspects of the NBA. Nick has covered 3 NBA Finals, 5 NBA All-Star weekends, 8 NBA drafts, 5 Jordan Brand Classics plus dozens of playoff games and hundreds of regular season games. 
Nick spends his spare time trying to decide which sneakers best match his outfit.