WNBA Draft 2016 Countdown (13 Days): Diana Taurasi, No. 1 Pick, 2004

In the 20 days leading up to the 20th annual WNBA Draft, WNBA.com and @WNBA are highlighting the first 19 No. 1 overall picks and their place in league history. Our 20-day countdown continues with Diana Taurasi, the first selection in the 2004 WNBA Draft.
With the first pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft, the Phoenix Mercury selected forward Diana Taurasi out of the University of Connecticut, where she was a three-time NCAA champion and a two-time Naismith College Player of the Year award winner.
Taurasi followed up her stellar collegiate career with an impressive rookie campaign in the WNBA, where she averaged 17.0 points 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists to win Rookie of the Year and earn the first of her nine All-WNBA First Team honors.
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In 2006, Taurasi averaged 25.3 points to win the first of her five WNBA scoring titles with a mark that remains the highest scoring average for a season in WNBA history. During that season Taurasi scored 47 points in a 3OT win over Houston to establish a record for most points scored in a game that stood until 2013.
With championship pedigree in college, international play and Olympic competition, Taurasi would add a WNBA championship to her resume in 2007 as the first of three WNBA titles she has won with the Mercury (2007, 2009, 2014). She was named Finals MVP in the last two championship runs to go with her regular season MVP award in 2009.
Few players in WNBA history have collected as much hardware as Diana, and after a year hiatus, she is back in Phoenix looking for more.