WATCH: Katie Smith, Diana Taurasi attack each other—with compliments

Diana Taurasi, asked at Phoenix Mercury media day on Monday about the chance to set the all-time WNBA record for three pointers—she’s just seven made threes shy of the record—said this in response:

“”The person who has the most is Katie [Smith], who is one of my idols growing up. I just always admired the way she played. And I got to play against her—she just brought something out of me I never knew was there. Just so competitive, so physical. I knew, to be great, I had to toughen up to play against her.”

For those familiar with their history, particularly through the glory of Youtube, the kind words may have clashed with the perception of the rivalry between the two WNBA greats. But Smith wasn’t surprised at all when she heard Taurasi’s comments.

“DT’s one of my favorite players over the years, one of the best to ever play the game,” Smith told The Summitt Monday night. “So the feeling is mutual. It was an amazing experience getting to play with her through USA Basketball, and then against her in the league for years. So for her to break the record seems entirely right to me.”

It is fair to say that the mutual admiration society did not exist on the court the night of September 19, 2011, with Taurasi’s Mercury and Smith’s Seattle Storm playing for the chance to reach the Western Conference Finals.

With Seattle up in the deciding Game 3, 35-22, playing at home, Taurasi used a closeout on Smith as an opportunity to smash her in the face with her forearm, earning a technical. She took a few steps toward Taurasi before Sue Bird jumped in to intervene.

Smith calmly sank both free throws, extending the Seattle lead to 15. But the Mercury battled back, Taurasi doing what she’s so often done in deciding road playoff games, and by midway through the fourth, Seattle led just 60-59. After Taurasi committed a reach-in guarding Smith on the perimeter, her sixth, Taurasi let out a stream of obscenities as she pumped her fist in the air angrily.

There’s a lot to unpack there, but maybe this is the biggest takeaway: the two 5’11 competitors, each with significantly more to their game than just perimeter shooting. In Smith’s case, an inside-outside game a forerunner to the current multi-dimensional stars, while Taurasi was a playmaker every bit as much as a shooter. And they both also brought a physicality and intensity to the floor, something not typically associated with the perimeter shooter.

“That’s true, it really speaks to her versatility, my versatility,” Smith said. “It was just a piece of what we could do. Neither of us are very shy about contact.” Smith laughed. “There’s a lot more to our games than just flying off on the down screen and hitting shots.”

That’s reflected in their career win shares. Taurasi, at 55.9, in ninth in WNBA history. Smith, at 59.6, is fifth in WNBA history.

As for Smith’s Internet-famous battle with Taurasi, she said she’s seen it a few times since it happened, but remembers it well.

“We lost that one,” Smith said. “I remember others, too. When I was at detroit, in the [2007 WNBA] Finals, remember getting that black eye from her, too.”