Diana Taurasi makes WNBA history as she becomes the first player to score 10,000 career points during Mercury’s game against the Atlanta Dream

Diana Taurasi made WNBA history with her 10,000th point Thursday night against the Atlanta Dream.

Taurasi became the first WNBA player to score 10,000 points, with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night.

The 41-year-old got a pass and in an instant the shot was off her fingertips. It was a three-pointer that flew through the net, as so often in her career.

After the shot, the crowd in Phoenix erupted in cheers and Taurasi’s teammates surrounded her in a circle, jumping up and down and celebrating.

The guard started the night with 18 points to get to 10,000.

Taurasi started the scoring on Thursday with a three-pointer off a corner about two minutes into the game and drove through the Atlanta defense for a layup a few minutes later. She had 10 points at halftime.

She was right back at it in the third quarter, hitting a layup on the Mercury’s first possession. Then she hit back-to-back 3-pointers – the last a 25-footer that took her to 10,000 points.

Taurasi has been the cornerstone of the Phoenix franchise since she was first drafted from UConn in 2004. Not only is she the scoring leader in the regular season, but she also holds that position in the playoffs.

She has won three WNBA Championships for the Mercury and was the Finals MVP twice.

Taurasi has averaged over 19 points in her career, including a career-high 25.3 points in 2006.

She is more than 2,500 points ahead of Tina Thompson, who is second on the scoring list with 7,488 points.