PHOENIX — Diana Taurasi made her way through the empty weight room, free of distractions, free of conversation, free of noise. It was after 4:30 p.m., and Taurasi was in her fourth hour of training for the day. Inside the Phoenix Mercury‘s practice facility after wrapping up an hourlong scrimmage, she bent her knees and swung a kettlebell down through her legs and back up, again and again. Taurasi’s face remained blank aside from the intention behind her eyes.
Her teammates had all scattered. DJ Quik’s “Bombudd II” calmed the air as Taurasi continued getting herself ready to do the only thing she has ever done at least one more time: Her 19th WNBA training camp was days away, but Taurasi has been at it like this for months.
“Everything I do my whole life is to make sure I can be on the court,” Taurasi told ESPN. “And it’s exhausting.”
But, the 40-year-old said, it’s necessary.
“I think that’s probably the biggest thing to committing to playing during the summer,” Taurasi added. “It’s really committing to play for nine months. I’m not going to play without all this. I just know how much work you have to put in to be…
