American Diana Taurasi has wrapped up her golden hexagon. She came to Paris aiming for her sixth gold medal, at 42 years old. After helping the U.S. defeat the host team (66-67) in the Paris 2024 final (even though she didn’t step on the court), she’s become a legend, becoming the first person ever to win six Olympic basketball titles.

Taurasi celebrated with her teammates their tenth title since women’s basketball was added to the Olympic schedule (since the Montreal '76 Games). It was their eighth gold in a row. She broke the historical tie she had with her former teammate Sue Bird (now retired, who led the opening ceremony of the final on Sunday) and now reigns solo with a record that will be hard to beat.

While Kevin Durant, another legend, became the first man to win four Olympic golds, the California-born guard, who has an Argentine mother and an Italian father raised in Argentina (and speaks both English and Spanish), has raised the bar to six golden medals.

After winning three NCAA championships with the Connecticut Huskies, Taurasi has shined with the Phoenix Mercury, the WNBA team that drafted her number one in 2004, where she’s spent her entire professional career in the U.S.

That hasn’t stopped her from succeeding in Europe (balancing calendars until seven years ago). She’s played in Russia (with Dinamo, Spartak Moscow, and Ekaterinburg) and Turkey (with Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray), where she’s won six EuroLeague titles and seven Russian leagues.

At home, her achievements are staggering. She has three WNBA rings, from 2007, 2009, and 2014, being named Finals MVP in the last two; and was the MVP in 2009. She was the league’s top scorer five times and has been an All-Star eleven times.

And now, she’s unique in the Olympics. She made a successful debut in the Athens 2004 Games, where the U.S. women slightly redeemed their country’s image after the men’s team came away with a disappointing bronze. She repeated gold at the Beijing 2008 Games and climbed to the top of the podium again in London 2012 and Rio 2016. At the Tokyo Games, she captured her fifth gold medal, where Team USA defeated the hosts.

She still loves playing, as she mentioned after her first training session in Lille: "I still love this sport, I love to compete. We always talk about winning or losing, but the journey, the preparation, and the struggle for it is what I enjoy the most. Sometimes people only remember the wins, but I like the things that happen before the victories."

She experienced her sixth gold with a supporting role on the court, in a team where A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart shone, but she was the spiritual guide of Cheryl Reeve’s squad, being the 'great captain.' After Paris 2024, she’ll continue playing in the WNBA, but these will be her last Olympics.

“Will I be in Los Angeles? Yes. I’ll be there. But just sipping a beer on the beach,” Taurasi had said to Efe before the French Olympic Games. In her final Olympic game, she didn’t play a single second. No matter. She had nothing left to prove. Taurasi is already eternal.