The Phoenix Mercury and Diana Taurasi go together like the pick and the roll, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, like SpongeBob and Patrick. It’s hard to imagine one without the other. For the uninitiated, Taurasi was taken first overall by the Mercury in the 2004 draft and became a face of the league in its infancy all the way through last season when she retired, holding a slew of WNBA records and championships. But in an alternate universe, the two are never connected at the hip. In this exercise, the Mercury go with another option atop the draft, altering the course of Mercury and WNBA history forever. So, what would happen if the Mercury never selected Taurasi?

A Future Without Taurasi

At the turn of the millennium, the Mercury were coming off a string of disappointing seasons. With three consecutive national titles at UConn, Diana Taurasi was the obvious choice for whichever team had the first overall pick.

Whether it be not liking what may have come up on medical records for Taurasi, the franchise choosing to go with a different player, or simply not having the first overall pick, not selecting Taurasi would set the Mercury on a completely foreign trajectory from the one they have now.

Without her, the Mercury would have likely lacked the superstar presence she provided for 20 years to a once fledgling franchise. The rebuild the Mercury were going through would very likely have gone an entirely different direction, if not stalled out altogether. Hailed as a generational talent, Taurasi brought in multitudes of fans to the Mercury. Her arrival brought not just wins, but relevance to a team in a league trying to make a name for itself. No Taurasi could’ve meant no Cappie Pondexter, no Britney Griner and none of the other pivotal players from franchise history who helped Taurasi win three WNBA titles.

Does anyone from the 2004 Draft Come Close?

Could anybody else from the 2004 draft have been capable of being the leader of a championship Mercury team? That draft includes All-WNBA and Hall of Fame talents like Alana Beard and Lindsay Whalen. Beard was more known for her defense and was not nearly as talented on the offensive side of the ball. Not a knock on Beard, but it would seem unlikely she could be the focal point of a championship team. Whalen on the other hand is a four-time champion herself, eclipsing Taurasi’s career total of three.

However, Whalen’s simply not the same scorer or frankly box office draw Taurasi was. Even if Whalen was one of the centerpieces to a title in Phoenix, are the Mercury as relevant within the WNBA landscape as they are today? Seems unlikely. Taurasi was a consistent 20 point per game scorer who defenses had to plan around each night. Credit where credit is due to the other two, but they simply aren’t Taurasi.

A Face of the League

Taurasi isn’t called the GOAT for no reason. For 20 years she was the face of an entire league, bringing relevance to a women’s sport that had otherwise not been there until the arrival of her, her contemporaries and rivals. Taurasi’s ability to give the Mercury 20+ points every single night is an achievement that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Neither are her three titles, MVP Award, two Finals MVP trophies, six Olympic gold medals, 11 All-Star appearances, 14 All-WNBA Team selections, her five scoring titles or her assists title in 2014. Not to mention being named to the league’s 15th, 20th and 25th anniversary teams, and surely every other league anniversary team after that.

Had Taurasi landed on another team, she surely would have been just as great, at least from a numbers perspective. But there’s something about a superstar who spends their entire career with one franchise that helps elevate them above the rest. To build a legacy in a city is a tough thing to do, and Taurasi has certainly cemented herself in Arizona sports lore, and maybe as the greatest professional athlete the state has ever seen.

Without Taurasi, it’s entirely possible the Mercury become an irrelevant franchise, or even go the way of defunct teams like the Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets or Sacramento Monarchs.

If Taurasi had been on a separate team, her chances of competing for titles and records could have been compromised, and without those accolades, would we still be calling her the GOAT? Would she have wanted to play into her 40’s had she not built the ever loving fanbase Mercury fans offer because of her? It all makes for a fun “what if?” but luckily we’ll never know the answer for sure.