NBA Legends LeBron James And Kobe Bryant Are In Awe Of Diana Taurasi’s WNBA Scoring Record

Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi needed just 14 points to surpass Tina Thompson on the WNBA All-Time scoring list and she took care of business in the first half of her team’s 90-59 loss against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday. With 45 seconds left in the second quarter, Taurasi scored on a layup which put her over Thompson’s 7,488 points and into the history books. Check it out:

Thompson issued a classy statement on Taurasi passing her on the All-Time scoring list (via ESPN):

“Congratulations to Diana on becoming the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer. I am excited that it is Diana and it is my absolute pleasure to pass the torch on to her. Diana is one of the best players to ever play the game and definitely one of my favorites. She has done amazing things and I am so grateful that I’ve been able to share many of those with her.”

Wanting to make note of such a momentous occasion, play was stopped and Taurasi was given the game ball. She also received a standing ovation from Sparks’ fans at Staples Center.

Among those in attendance for the game was Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who praised Taurasi on her achievement during an in-game interview:

Bryant wasn’t the only member of the NBA community to salute Taurasi for becoming the league’s All-Time scoring leader. Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James posted a personalized message to Taurasi on his Uninterrupted network:

Taurasi received shout outs and respect from several other notable NBA players like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Jared Dudley:

With the WNBA season just ten games young, Taurasi will only keep growing her career scoring total this year and making it harder for any other player to catch her.