Maya Moore’s number is finally taking its place and hanging in the Target Center.
The Minnesota Lynx officially retired the six-time WNBA All-Star’s jersey number on Saturday night following their 90-80 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in Minneapolis. Moore was undoubtedly the best player on the team leading the Lynx on four different championship runs during her eight seasons in the league.
Moore was honored in a tear-jerker of a ceremony after the game, where she was given a commemorative Jordan brand jacket and gold shoes symbolizing her many accomplishments throughout her career.
Most of the record crowd for a Lynx home game, 19,023, did not go anywhere and remained in their seats to honor Moore.
“My life is an example of what it looks like when we love a little girl well,” she said. “There is no way we’re watching that [ceremony] without love. So many people having a hand in my life to show me what life is about. That’s what I tried to bring every day: life and joy. Because I’ve been a recipient of life and joy.”
Moore is now the fifth player in Lynx history to have her jersey number retired. She joins four of her teammates, Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles. A number of her former teammates were in attendance for the ceremony, too, including Fowles and Brunson.
The Lynx selected Moore with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 out of UConn, and she wasted no time asserting her dominance, winning Rookie of the Year honors during her first campaign while winning a title with the Lynx. They made it to the pinnacle, the WNBA Finals, five more times in the next six years while winning a trio of championships in one of the best dynasties for a franchise in WNBA history. Only the Houston Comets, who won four in a row form 1997-2000 can rival them.
Moore also captured individual accolades and was the league’s MVP in the 2014 season, where she averaged a career-high 23.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. She wrapped up her stellar career averaging 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game after she retired following the 2018 season. Moore also won a pair of gold medals with the Team USA women’s team in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Embed from Getty ImagesMoore is still the Lynx’s franchise leader in steals (449) and 3-point field goals made (530). She also comes through in the clutch and is the all-time leading scorer in WNBA Finals history with 441 points.
Shockingly, Moore, right in the middle of her prime, announced that she was going to sit out the 2019 season to focus on both her family and her non-profit organization, “Win With Justice.” She poured her energy into freeing Jonathan Irons from prison, which she eventually accomplished in 2020. Irons was wrongfully convicted when he was 16 years old, and he spent a long 23 years in prison in Missouri. Moore and Irons then tied the knot, and they had their first child in 2022. She officially retired from the WNBA last year.
Coincidence or not, the Lynx opted to retire Moore’s jersey on the night that Clark and the Fever were in town. Clark, who has helped revolutionize and launch a massive new wave of interest in women’s basketball as a whole as of late, was surprised by Moore during ESPN’s “College GameDay” when she was playing for the University of Iowa in what was an emotional moment for the former Hawkeyes star.
Clark warmed up and was donning a Moore shirt before tipoff. Moore, who Clark first met at a basketball camp when she was a youth, was asked about that initial interaction, which she admitted she did not remember.
“It’s just really, really cool to think about how one of those little girls became Caitlin Clark,” Moore said before the game. “I think it just goes to show you when you just do your best to be in the moment and treat people with kindness and just be present when you can, it really makes a big difference. Looking at the type of person and leader that she can be with people is influenced by something that I did. And she can do the same for another little girl, little boy. It’s just encouraging.”
The Lynx led nearly wire-to-wire on Saturday night to pick up the 10-point win, which officially clinched a playoff spot for them. Napheesa Collier led the way with 31 points after shooting 12-of-18 from the field. Clark finished with 23 points and eight assists for the Fever.
