BREAKING: Phoenix Mercury extend Diana Taurasi’s contract

The Phoenix Mercury and Diana Taurasi have agreed to a “multi-year” contract extension, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

Taurasi, whose 55.5 career win shares entering the season rank her ninth in the history of the league, now enjoys the security and knowledge she’ll continue to play with fellow Phoenix star Brittney Griner stateside for the forseeable future.

Taurasi, who turns 35 on June 11, has played exclusively for Phoenix in her WNBA career, one that began in the 2004 season. She’s won three WNBA championships with the Mercury, including two WNBA Finals MVP awards, and was the 2009 regular season WNBA MVP as well.

She’s currently 175 points away from setting the all-time WNBA record for points scored, and just six three-pointers away from besting Katie Smith’s mark for most career made threes, following her uncharacteristic effort Sunday in Phoenix’s opener against Dallas.

“As long as Diana Taurasi wants to play in the WNBA, we want her in a Mercury uniform,”  Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman said in a press release.  “As we’ve said before, she is the heart of our franchise, the first face on our Mount Rushmore, the best winner and competitor in the women’s game.  The trajectory of our organization changed the day we drafted her 13 years ago, and we are excited she will be here into the future.”

Taurasi, who married former teammate and current Mercury Director of Player Development Penny Taylor this past weekend, will celebrate her milestones with the home fans on Wednesday night against the Indiana Fever.