Documentary about Tauurasi: From his childhood to his Olympic Desaine

In the documentary, Taurasi speaks for the first time about having remained in the bank in the final of Paris 2024: “It was my time to receive the worst part.”

TO Diana Tauurasi They were leaving it planted.

He was supposed to meet with the director Katie Bender Wynn For the first time to discuss the possibility of working together in a documentary about the life of the former WNBA star.

But Bender Wynn did not appear. Or that thought of Taurai while waiting sitting in Provision, a Phoenix cafeteria.

Almost 400 miles away, Bender Wynn also expected, in Playa Provisions, near Manhattan Beach, California.

Taurasi has houses in both cities, but he had returned to Phoenix. He took a couple of text messages to realize that he had not transmitted the news to Bender Wynn. They quickly called and did not stop laughing.

“That was the first time we both felt that they had left us planted,” said Bender Wynn about the failed meeting two years ago. “It was funny, and we had a long talk on the phone. Immediately, everything felt very natural among us.

“Then, when I met her in person, he told me: ‘I feel as if I knew you of a lifetime.'”

During the last 18 months, Bender Wynn documented Tauurai’s life while concluding his illustrious career with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and the National National Team of the United States. The cameras captured the last Olympic game of Tauuras in Paris, their trip to the PHX Arena for their last game of the regular WNBA season and its retirement press tour in New York City.

The result is “Tauuras”, A three -part documentary series which premiered on Thursday, August 7 in Prime Video. Each episode documents specific periods of Tauurai’s life. The first covers his childhood, having won three NCAA titles in UCONN and being the first selected in the 2004 WNBA Draft. The second covers his stay in Russia, where he played for the Russian businessman Shabtai Kalmanovich, who was subsequently killed (the docuserie includes an interview with his driver, who had never spoken publicly about the murder of Kalmanovich), and his relationship with his wife, Penny Taylor. The third addresses the tauurai doping scandal in Türkiye, his career with Mercury and his participation in the 2024 Olympic team, including his absence in the match for the gold medal.

Before starting the project, Bender Wynn, Australian filmmaker, did not know who Taurasi was. But after knowing her, he knew instantly that Tauurasi was unique.

“The unfortunate thing about Dee’s career is that it happened at a time when social networks were not a factor,” Uconn’s coach told AM850, Genoiemma Geno. “So many people never see the incredible things he did.”

His relatives were surprised that Tauurasi, famous for being a private person, agreed to share his life with the world. Your older sister, Jessika SkillernI did not believe that Tauuras would accept to participate in the documentary when they contacted her initially.

“It’s equal to my dad,” Skillern told AM850. “They are very quiet. They are very reserved. They rarely talk about their private life with anyone.”

“I think he was at a time in his life in which he was a bit more vulnerable and wanted people to see that he is not always a jerk.”

The president of Mercury, Vince Kozarwho has known Taurasi for two decades and appears in the documentary series, said Tauurasi wanted the project to be authentic, with defects and controversies included.

“In the 20 years that I have met her, she has always been herself,” Kozar said. “And what you see is what there is. He doesn’t try to convince anyone at all.”

As the maximum historical scorer of the WNBA and the player chosen by fans such as the WNBA Goat in 2021, much of the history of Taurasi has already been told. However, “Taurasi” sometimes reveals unknown details of his life. Here are four things we learned in “Tauurasi”.

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From Chinese to Argentina and back

Taurasi grew up in Chino, California, and is a renowned Los Angeles Lakers fans. But in 1992, when Tauurai was 10 years old, his parents, Mario and Lily TauurasiThey moved to the family back to Argentina, where they had emigrated. In the United States, basketball had already begun to be an integral part of Diana’s life by then, but it was practically non -existent, especially for girls, in the South American country. Although Diana and Jessika were surrounded by family, those first months in Argentina were difficult.

Then, one day, three masked men looted their house and hit Mario. Despite the happiness that the move had generated for Mario and Lily, and the great family that surrounded them in Argentina, they returned to Chino after almost two years.

That finally took Diana to Storrs.

“All the sacrifices we made when leaving Argentina was worthwhile to see her play in Uconn,” Skillern said.

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Undervalued and sub -commercialized

Throughout “Tauurasi”, Bender Wynn continuously analyzed the value of Tauurasi and drew a theme: she was undervalued by the WNBA.

Sue Birdformer Tauurai teammate in Uconn And in the Olympic Games, he said that Tauurasi, full of “style”, “trust” and “ingenious phrases”, was “incredibly subcomercialized.”

“It was the WNBA fat award, but he never had the opportunity to fulfill that,” Bird said. “They tried to go in the opposite direction that Dee contributed.”

Part of that was due to the finances of playing in the WNBA. Taurasi won $ 42,000 as a rookie – taxes, said Tauurasi with a smile – but won between 16 and 18 times that amount, not including bonuses, in Russia.

There were years, said Taurai, in which he felt “resentful” when he returned to the WNBA in the summers to play in a league that did not pay so well or take care of the players as well as the Russian leagues. But she felt the responsibility of continuing to play in the WNBA.

“It was a feeling that, you do it for the common good of female basketball and the next generation, to which, as athletes, you are handcuffed for life,” said Tauurasi. “I think our generation was one of alone, strive and keep going, and we didn’t complain about everything.

“And hopefully I would have complained more.”

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The first days of Tauurai’s relationship with Taylor

One of Bender Wynn’s objectives with “Taurasi” was to capture her love for her family, and the docuserie enters the courtship of Diana with her wife Penny Taylorwho became his teammate in Mercury in 2004. There were “snapshots,” said Taylor, of connections during his time in the team. Over time, they both developed feelings, and Tauuras began a conversation.

“She doesn’t usually lower her guard, so when she trusted me and let me in a little, it was a huge step,” Taylor said. “Obviously, it was a mutual feeling.”

Taylor was married at that time and he weighed her, but said she couldn’t ignore how she felt.

“Diana and I found something we loved each other, and we got married,” Taylor said. “Since then, we have only been us. Looking back, I’ve always loved Diana.”

When Taurasi played in Russia and Taylor in Türkiye, Taurasi flew to see Taylor in his free days, which were often 24 hours or less.

That, Taylor said, confirmed Tauurai’s feelings towards her.

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A golden trigger

When Tauurai was selected for the Olympic team, some considered it a controversial choice instead of Caitlin Clark. Bird considered it an obvious option, as did Taurai, who had not previously sincere about his possible absence in the match for the Gold Medal in Paris 2024.

“When I see that Dee is chosen (for the US list.), She is there to lead,” Bird said. “It’s there to calm all when things get weird, because things are going to get weird. It always happens.”

Taurasi, who won his sixth Olympic gold medal in Paris, said: “To be honest, I really never thought about it. I always felt that I deserved to be in the team because it was my team for 20 years and I know how to get results.”

Then the game was given by the gold medal.

Even the Olympic semifinals, Tauurasi played a secondary role for the coach Cheryl Reeveplaying a total of 55 minutes and 50 seconds in the first five games of the tournament. That figure did not change in the match for the gold medal, a victory for a point over France, since Taurasi never left the bank.

She kept looking at Bird, whose seat was on the other side of the Tauurai place at the bank, with a look that Bird described as “I don’t know what the hell is happening.”

“This was the game for which they really brought it here,” said Bird.

As the game progressed, Taurasi said he thought: “You won’t even put me for a little while.”

It was a game that Taurai described as a “great psychological game” for the United States, one that was going to 160 km/h (100 mph), one for which 12 years of playing in Europe had prepared Tauurasi.

“I’m confused by what happened,” said Tauurasi. “They never told me: ‘Hey, you’re not going to play because we are going this way.’ It seems good to me, I can live with that.

“But I didn’t receive that. Maybe it was my time to receive the worst.”

The Americans achieved the victory, Taurasi won their sixth gold medal, a record, and could celebrate with their family, including their father, who was “super angry.”

“I’ve done this another five times and I felt that I really deserved it,” he said. “This time was the one that does not belong.”