Diana Taurasi on UConn Pressure, Pet Parenting, and Caitlin Clark's Team USA Number

WNBA legend Diana Taurasi has kept busy since her legendary professional career ended. One way she has done so is through her partnership with GREENIES, which is America's #1 dog dental treat brand and creates pet food products with ingredients that are easy to digest and help promote overall pet health.

Taurasi is the face of Greenies' "Be Your Dog's Mouthguard" campaign. Fans can visit GREENIES' website to take the pledge to protect their dog's dental health, and if either of the UConn Men's or Women's basketball teams wins the national championship this season, pledge-takers will win free GREENIES Dog Dental Treats.

Taurasi spoke with Women's Fastbreak on SI about this GREENIES campaign, along with other aspects of the basketball world.

Why did you want to be a part of this GREENIES "Be Your Dog’s Mouthguard" campaign, and is there anything that you want fans to understand about it?

DT: I mean, it's been a great partnership. It's March, and what people love the most are their college teams and their pets. So when GREENIES came out with this campaign to be your dog's mouthguard, and you can go to Greenies.com, and get a free bag if either UConn's men's or women's team wins a national championship, who doesn't want that for their fur babies? And it's just a very organic and very real partnership, something that's always been in my pantry for my pets, and it's just been really fun.

Are there any habits or mindsets that you got from your playing career that you've brought into being a pet parent?

DT: Oh, absolutely. I mean, you have to have discipline. That's for sure. And a routine. Whenever you have a routine, it just makes everyone in the house feel better. And you know, when your pet knows when they're going for a walk, when they're getting fed, when they're getting a GREENIES treat, I think that all gives them comfort. And it makes life seamless.

The stat about 80% of dogs having dental issues by age three is pretty insane. Is there anything that you've learned about pet health through this partnership that surprised you?

DT: I think when we talk about pet health, health care, and health, we forget about the dental side. Like you said, 80% of dogs by age three struggle with dental hygiene. And I think GREENIES is just a great way to make sure your dog's dental hygiene is up to par, and it's a wonderful thing.

I'm not going to ask who you're rooting for in the tournament because I already know. But I'm wondering when you watch UConn play now, is there anything that feels the same as it did when you were there? And is there anything that feels completely different?

DT: Yeah, I mean, there's the automatic feeling when I watch them play, that jersey just brings back so many memories of being at the Final Four, playing during the tournament. But when I see Coach Auriemma, that’s when it really feels real. Because I know how hard he works. I know how hard he pushes the team. I know what all the girls are going through. They might be going through it in a different way, but those feelings are the same. How much pressure you feel and how much pride you have in wearing that jersey and wanting to win a championship, it's probably more similarities than differences at this point.

WNBA player and former UConn Huskies player Diana Taurasi | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Do you feel like with the players that were around last year, that pressure is the same? Once you have that one championship, does it then lessen the pressure a little bit?

DT: No. I think that's the beauty of playing at Connecticut. There's the pressure to win, but more than anything, there's the pressure to play great basketball every single day. You know, it doesn't matter who you're playing, whether it's at practice, against the practice guys, whether it's in January, a Big East game against Seton Hall, at Seton Hall or at Tennessee, it doesn't matter. We treat every single game the same. And I think that's why you see these amazing results. And especially when we get to the Final Four, when the stakes are so high and there's so much pressure, it just feels like another day at Connecticut.

It's like they're almost competing against themselves, not against the final score.

DT: Coach [Auriemma] always has this great line, "You're going to prove me right or prove me wrong." So in a lot of ways, you're just trying to prove Coach wrong, you know, about yourself, about the team, and that the squad has that grit to win a championship.

Defenses rejoice. The incredible career of @DianaTaurasi has come to an end.

🐐WNBA MVP
🐐 14x All-WNBA
🐐 11x WNBA All-Star
🐐 3x NCAA Champion
🐐 3x WNBA Champion
🐐 2x WNBA Finals MVP
🐐 2004 1st overall Pick
🐐 WNBA Rookie of the Year
🐐 6x Olympic Gold Medalist
🐐 5x WNBA… pic.twitter.com/OtW95iAqcv
— espnW (@espnW) February 25, 2025

Caitlin Clark was wearing number 12 for Team USA during the Fever Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament. We know that number is very tied to you. What was your reaction when you saw that?

DT: It's so cool to see Caitlin not only wear the USA jersey, number 12. I spent two decades wearing that jersey and that number, and I couldn't think of anyone better to take it and put it on and just have an amazing career. And Caitlin will do that. She had a great qualifier down in Puerto Rico. It's just going to be fun to watch her play in the summer, in Germany, and then the Olympics. No one better to wear the 12, and Caitlin's going to put some gold medals on that jersey, you know.

Do you know if that jersey number was random, or did you talk to Sue [Bird] and have any hand in making that happen?

DT: You know, once I'm out of things, I'm out. Maybe Sue, you know, she's a little bit more calculated than people think. So maybe that was a Sue job. That wouldn't surprise me.