Diana Taurasi kept it real.<\/p>\n
The self-titled three-episode docuseries premieres on Thursday, and Prime Video teased fans on Wednesday with a clip from the series where Taurasi details the struggle and grind of WNBA salaries during the days of her playing career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe f\u2013king janitor at the arena made more than me<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m the best player in the world, and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist.”<\/p>\n Taurasi premieres tomorrow on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com\/64HU21zoOQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) August 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Taurasi recounted having to use WNBA offseasons to secure bigger paydays by playing in other leagues overseas.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the best player in the world and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist,\u201d Taurasi said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t making that much money, so generational wealth was coming from going to Russia every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Diana Taurasi spent 20 years in the WNBA. Rob Schumacher\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n \u201cNow we have to come back home and get paid nothing, to play in a harder league, in worse conditions, against the best competition in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n And it wasn\u2019t just the pay that bothered her, as life started to pass her by when she had to spend months out of the year playing in Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cOne time I came back and I was like, \u2018Man, my parents have just gotten older and I\u2019ve missed a big part of it,\u2019\u201d Taurasi said.<\/p>\n Taurasi retired in 2024<\/a> and is widely considered to be one of the greatest WNBA players of all time after her 20-year career with the Mercury.<\/p>\n Diana Taurasi before a game in 2024. Owen Ziliak\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n While she quit spending her offseasons overseas in 2017, the majority of the league today still takes its talents outside the U.S. in the offseason to stay sharp and earn extra money, as foreign leagues can often pay players double what the WNBA does or more.<\/p>\n While the WNBA has more eyes than ever in 2025, the salaries haven\u2019t necessarily aligned with how much attention the league gets. Taursi made $234,936 in her final WNBA season. <\/p>\n The WNBA Players Association has been in negotiations with league commissioner Cathy Engelbert for a new collective bargaining agreement, and uncertainty is looming as the sides seem to have not progressed much<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fever star Caitlin Clark wearing a \u201cPay Us What You Owe Us\u201d shirt before the WNBA All-Star Game on July 19. Getty Images<\/p>\n At the All-Star Game in late July, players wore shirts reading, \u201cPay us what you owe us.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t