Minnesota Lynx Great Maya Moore Announces WNBA Retirement
Moore officially retires more than four years after playing her final WNBA game.
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On Monday, Jan. 16, Maya Moore officially announced her retirement from the WNBA more than four years after playing in her final game for the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 19, 2018. Moore left the sport in her prime. In that final season, she averaged 18 points and five rebounds per game and led the league with 1.7 steals per game. Those numbers are very close to her career WNBA averages of 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals over 271 games - all of which she started.
All she does is win
The teams Moore played on won a LOT of games. Her high school team, Collins Hill (Ga.) High School, went 125-3 (.976) during her four years there.
UConn was 150-4 (.974) in the Moore era, went to four Final Fours and won two national championships. In her 2011 senior season, Moore won the Associated Press, WBCA Wade Trophy, Naismith, USBWA and John Wooden National Player of the Year awards.
The Minnesota Lynx selected Moore with the No. 1 pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft. The team was 200-71 (.738) in the regular season and 40-16 (.714) in the playoffs in the eight seasons Moore played and won four WNBA titles. Moore won Rookie of the Year in 2011, Finals MVP in 2013, and league MVP in 2014. She was a six-time All-Star, a three-time All-Star Game MVP and was named to the All-WNBA team five times.
Moore also won Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2012 and 2016.
Social justice reform
The intervening years between her last game and retirement announcement were just as remarkable as her basketball career. On Feb. 5, 2019, Moore announced she would step away from the WNBA to focus on her family and ministry dreams. At the time she said, “I’m sure this year will be hard in ways that I don’t even know yet, but it will also be rewarding in ways I’ve yet to see, too.” That was certainly a prophetic statement! Moore used her time away from basketball to help overturn the wrongful conviction of family friend Jonathan Irons who had been in prison since 1998. The two are now married and have a son. It’s a remarkable story chronicled in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Breakaway.”
The Jonathan Irons case was not Moore’s first experience with social justice reform. In 2016, Moore joined Minnesota Lynx co-captains Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson and Seimone Augustus to speak out about racism and the Black Lives Matter movement. They initially faced backlash but were also joined by other WNBA players and teams. The activism set the tone for more focus on social justice in the 2020 season in the bubble.
Maya on her journey leading to retirement
In a statement provided by Lynx PR, Moore said, “I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that the WNBA, the Minnesota Lynx and basketball have given me in my lifetime. It was a dream come true for me to play basketball at the highest level and help build the foundation for women’s basketball. Ever since I was drafted in 2011, the state of Minnesota, Lynx organization and fan base welcomed me with open arms and supported me throughout my entire career. I will forever be grateful for Glen Taylor, Coach Reeve and the Lynx community for all of the support and am excited to continue this next chapter in my life.”
Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor had this to say about Moore, “Maya Moore has forever left a mark on the state of Minnesota, the Minnesota Lynx franchise and the hearts of Lynx fans everywhere. Maya’s accolades are numerous; her leadership and talent both fearless and inspirational set the foundation for the most exciting and historic championship run in the league from 2011-2017. While today culminates Maya’s basketball career, there is no doubt she will continue to impact the game we all love. We wish Maya all the best and will root for her always.”
Lynx Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve added, “On behalf of the Minnesota Lynx organization, I want to congratulate Maya on an incredible basketball career. We will always cherish her time in a Lynx uniform, and we wish her the best as she continues to pursue this next chapter of her life.”
Moore and the Minnesota Lynx had a media event for her retirement. There was very little talk about basketball specifics at the event, but Maya was able to express how her journey has shaped her.
Replying to a question from Howard Megdal of The Next about the Lynx captains wearing the Change Starts with Us shirts in 2016 and the influence that had on her and the movement since, Moore said, “The courage and the momentum that was given from our team being unified in that…really just taking the eyes off of our basketball talents for a moment to put eyes and hearts and minds on our shared humanity, which was our goal as well as just helping shine a light on the real grief that we were experiencing as people because of the violence and the continued effects that injustice has played in our in our nation's history.” Moore went on to say, “That we actually ended up getting the courage to say, ‘Let's hold on, and give attention to what matters most, which are people, and people thriving and people's well-being and our personal story with Jonathan was just at the forefront for me over these last few years.”
When asked by Dorothy Gentry how unexpected her journey has been Moore replied, “I was laughing a little bit because it's like I couldn't have written the story like this… A lot of it is unexpected, but you also do your best to prepare. Hey, that's basketball, too, right? You don't know how the game's gonna unfold, but you do your best to prepare, so just some of the same approach…be present and prepared in the moment, but then just persevering through the heart because of love, because of your relationships and the bonds that you have, and learning the importance of forming meaningful deep bonds is as best as you can, because that's where you really find your purpose in your life.” She summed it up by saying, “I think this just caused me to really value relationships, value being present, value the process and value people.”
Replying to a question from Charles Hallman of the Minnesota Spokesman-Reporter about how she would like to be remembered, Moore said, “I always tried to bring energy. I always tried to bring light and joy and an intensity to whatever I was doing. I hope people saw me as someone who gave all she had with whatever she was doing. But also, somebody who looks beyond the craft that I pursued and tried to value people, you know, having a proper perspective about where people fit into this.”
Maggie Hendricks of Bally Sports asked if Moore had moments over the past few years where she missed playing. Moore said, “I think there's very few teams that have a core like we did, teams with such good chemistry so I missed that more than anything.” Moore then continued, “But I was very focused on just trying to be well, have a good rhythm, having to get more rest, the emotional and mental energy that it took to do all the things that I've done these last years. So I was very full, if that makes sense. Like I was so full and focused on what I was doing that I wasn't just sitting around wishing I was playing the game. I just felt such a sense of purpose and the direction I was heading that I wasn't wrestling with that.”
When asked by M.A. Voepel of ESPN for a favorite memory from either UConn or the Lynx, Maya provided an answer for both, but, typical for Maya, neither one was focused on herself.
“The preseason my sophomore year [at UConn]. So the first year, we went undefeated and won every game by 10 points or more. It was Renee's [Montgomery] senior year. That preseason was five weeks in the fall before the season got started. And we were training our tails off. We were so motivated having lost in the Final Four the year before, and our team chemistry just shot through the roof. We were just super-focused and locked in and ended up leading to what you will see in those next few years.”
“For the Lynx, watching Seimone [Augustus] get her first championship and Finals MVP in Atlanta in 2011 was super sweet. And to do that in my home, one of my home states, such a sweet memory. And also washing the feet of all those little babies when we were in DC to celebrate our fourth championship. I believe we ended up being able to have the Jordan Brand and Nike donate shoes to some school kids in the DC area and we got to partner with an organization that washes people's feet and gives them new shoes. It was just so sweet to see the look on those kids' faces who probably haven't had people washing their feet like that.”
Maya Moore is a unique talent and person, and the world of basketball was fortunate to have her. As stated on her website mayamoore.com, “Maya Moore has never done anything but win. She has done it with fire, with polish and with integrity. She is Generation Next, the thoughtful athlete turned cultural icon, loved by the media and anointed by Michael himself. She is our most amplified crossover star and pay attention — she is changing the game.” We couldn’t have said it any better.
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