​The Phoenix Mercury return from a long road trip to celebrate franchise legend Diana Taurasi in the first home game back.Taurasi will have her No. 3 jersey retired and put into the Mercury’s Ring of Honor on Sunday, Aug. 16, when the Mercury play the Portland Fire. She will join Cheryl Miller, Jennifer Gillom (22), Bridget Pettis (32), Penny Taylor (13) and Michele Timms (7). Taurasi retired in 2025 after playing all 20 WNBA seasons with the Mercury and bringing three championships to Phoenix.The Mercury last faced the Fire on June 5 and won 78-72. DeWanna Bonner scored 19 in the absence of both Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper.The matchup against the Fire will begin a five-game homestand, including a game against the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, Aug. 22. Phoenix has lost both contests to the Dream, falling 96-82 in Atlanta on Aug. 5. Angel Reese leads the WNBA with 11.9 rebounds in 31 games.Entering their Tuesday, Aug. 11, road matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix star Kahleah Copper was averaging 20.6 points per game, and Alyssa Thomas 14.8 points. 8.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game.Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mercury begin homestand with Diana Taurasi’s jersey retirement