When it came to playing basketball Penny Taylor loved the work, the journey and the grind of playing at world level.
Taylor's skills and fundamentals were as defined as anyone in the history of the game and her resume seats her among the greatest players.
![Penny Taylor, Australian basketball legend, at Dandenong on Friday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170619020738im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/q/z/m/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtr17m.png/1484283468224.jpg)
As a competitor, there were few who could match her ferocity and drive to be the best – this might be how she is best remembered.
"For young girls it's important for them to see you can be just as competitive, just as driven – you can get out there and throw your body on the line," Taylor said.
"I know that had a real influence on me growing up, watching the WNBL I could see that it was OK to be competitive, OK to dive straight in there and give everything."
But when the 35-year-old retired from the game last year her elegant exit didn't include her homeland. She bowed out of international basketball after the Opals' heartbreaking quarter-final loss in Rio, then altogether when her Phoenix Mercury lost in the WNBA playoffs.
Taylor has no regrets. She played for as long as her body let her stay at the elite level.
"It wasn't a sudden stop to it all, it was a gradual realisation that this is how I wanted to do it," Taylor said on Friday.
"For me it was about finishing at a high level, being still able to play the way I wanted to play – there were some disappointments as my year went on with the WNBA finals, and the Olympics were a big one.
"You always want to go out on a win but you don't always get to make that decision."
There will be no comebacks either, as Taylor's knees continue to make clear to her.
"My playing days are over – I still have the same knees," Taylor said.
In today's world of loud self-promotion, elegance too often ends in silence and this is why the Dandenong Rangers were so keen to make Taylor the centrepiece of their 25th WNBL anniversary celebrations this weekend.
The club will host 200 past players and supporters at a pre-game luncheon at Dandenong Stadium on Saturday, then play arch rivals Melbourne Boomers at 3pm. They also have special singlets and shorts for the game with all 142 past WNBL Rangers listed.
While the Rangers' club history goes well beyond 25 years, the WNBL program has reached this milestone and Taylor is arguably their proudest export among 25 Opals internationals and many more great WNBL stars.
So chief executive Graeme Allen and 25-year sponsor Gerry Ryan of Jayco funded Taylor's return home both to promote the club's milestone and offer her a home farewell.
Taylor, who splits her time between the United States and Europe, arrived home in Melbourne around midnight on Thursday night, but, ever the professional, was fulfilling interviews and appearances just 12 hours later.
Among her top achievements were a Most Valuable Player performance in the Opals' 2006 FIBA world championship gold medal, three WNBA titles with Phoenix Mercury, a WNBL title with the AIS in 1999, plus two Olympic silver medals in 2004 and 2008 and two world championships bronze medals.
Taylor admitted she felt like she was grieving after the Rio Olympics but knows the Opals need to look to the future, a future she would be happy to be a part of if called upon.
"We didn't do well, even the games we won we didn't do that well except for the France game," Taylor said.
"So we have to re-assess everything – you always want to think you are getting better and growing but I don't think that was the case in this instance, so it feels bad that I don't get to go back and fix those problems."
Many of Taylor's longest-serving teammates and friends think she will become a coach and, while Taylor does want to roam the sidelines, for now she is taking a break.
"I definitely would love to be a part of the Opals going forward – I would have a lot to offer but I have a lot to learn as well," Taylor said.
"I think my work experience is 20 years of playing around the world in seven different countries – eventually I'll make it more official but for now I'm enjoying not doing anything for the first time in my life."
Taylor is studying online and allowing her future to form "organically" but she still follows the WNBL and "watches eight NBA games a day" – so her love of the game hasn't diminished.
"I'm starting a course on nutrition next month and there is a small business course I want to take," Taylor said.
"I haven't studied since high school but I'm really look forward to it now I know what I'm interested in."
Taylor wants to be remembered as a great teammate and influence but she is proudest of being a "sweaty role model" for young women.
"Sometimes we are a little conditioned to be composed and stand back but it's important to see that we can do life rough, give it everything and not hold back," Taylor said.
"Seeing Serena Williams kicking butt and being so dominant is so important and there are people in all sports who are those role models and I hope I have been that for someone at some point.
"I wouldn't want to play any other way, maybe you can but I wouldn't want to and I feel like I can walk away from the game knowing that's what I did.
"I paid physically for it but I never wanted to play any other way."
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