Taurasi Says The Plan Was To Rest After London

Diana Taurasi said Friday that it was always her intention to take time off from the WNBA, after the Olympics, and that the public outcry it caused didn’t change her mind.

“The plan worked out pretty much the way it was planned,” said Taurasi before Friday’s game between Connecticut and Phoenix at the Mohegan Sun Arena. “It was what I had planned to do with the organization.

“Hey, I could care less what people say [about the decision]. You should know that.”

After playing just two games in the first half of the season, Taurasi rested a hip flexor injury suffered this winter in Turkey until the start of Olympic camp in Washington on July 14. She was one of the best players on the USA’s gold medal team in London.

But when the WNBA season resumed, Taurasi sat out the first three games with various ailments, including wisdom teeth. And with Phoenix struggling to win, the decision to sit did not sit well with some pundits.

“It was a long three weeks [the Olympics],” said Taurasi. “Just look at what’s been going on with Asjha [Jones]. It’s grueling when you get older.”

Jones, the Connecticut Sun forward who also played for the USAm has not played for her team since the before the Olympic break.

Taurasi has played in four games since returning to the lineup last week.