"I'm retiring and my record against you is 1650-1": Geno Auriemma recalls losing to his son 1v1 to justify Diana Taurasi's retirement decision

In February, Diana Taurasi announced her retirement after 20 seasons. She played her last season with the Phoenix Mercury and led them to the playoffs.

Before Taurasi became a legendary figure in the WNBA, her game was molded by longtime UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma. The duo helped the Huskies win three straight NCAA championships from 2002 to 2004.

During an interview with Sarah Spain on the "Good Game" podcast on Thursday, Auriemma justified Taurasi's decision to retire by recalling his own experience of playing one-on-one basketball with his son.

"I used to play one-on-one with my son who ended up playing in college," Auriemma said. "He's 6'2". And we would play. And all of a sudden, when he was like 16, 15, 14, he beat me. And I never played him again. I said, 'I'm retiring, and my record against you is 1,650-1.'"

Auriemma related this feeling to what athletes like Taurasi experience as they near the end of their careers.

"The game is not going to be the same without her out there. But at the same time, if that's not the real her out there, then it's better that she's not out there," the Huskies coach added.

Geno Auriemma calls Diana Taurasi "greatest winner in the history of basketball"

Geno Auriemma coached Diana Taurasi for four years at UConn and twice in the Summer Games, and the duo achieved tremendous success together.

Shortly after Taurasi announced her retirement, Auriemman penned a special message for his former guard.

"It’s hard to put into words, it really is, what this means," Auriemma said. "It’s the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.

"In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport. For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball: Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period."

Apart from three NCAA titles under Auriemma, Taurasi was also a two-time NCAA Tournament MVP (2003, 2004), two-time Naismith College Player of the Year (2003, 2004), USBWA Women's National Player of the Year (2003), AP College Player of the Year (2003), two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner (2003, 2004), and two-time Big East Player of the Year (2003, 2004).