Basketball Hall of Fame inducts ‘greatest women’s class’
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — She walked away at the prime of her basketball career for a greater calling pursuing social justice issues, and Maya Moore never looked back. “I am so grateful,” she said of her Hall of Fame induction.
“I am super blessed to have some of the great teams I played for. I’m going in with Syl [Sylvia Fowles] and Sue [Bird], USA teammates and Lynx teammates,” Moore told reporters, including the MSR at last Friday’s media availability. The following day, Moore, Fowles and Bird, along with four former players, an NBA team owner, and the 2008 USA Basketball Men’s National Team were inducted as the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 in Springfield, Mass.
Moore finally announced her retirement as a player a few years after she stepped away from the Minnesota Lynx before the 2019 season at age 29. Putting her stellar, now-HOF career in moth balls wasn’t a complete surprise, because the Jefferson City, Missouri native’s overall faith always was first and foremost.
“I think sports is such a wonderful place to be able to become and to show the best of who we are as humanity, right?” said Moore to me when asked about her and Fowles joining Seimone Augustus as three Black athletes who played on a Minnesota pro team, won championships, and now are HOFers.
And if there’s a social justice hall, the retired W great might be a shoo-in for that, too.
“I’m very honored and very privileged, but also encouraged to see more and more people being acknowledged for what they gave to the community. Because at the end of the day, we do this for people, right?
“Obviously, we’re making a paycheck. It’s a job. We earn a living. But if the people in our community don’t care and aren’t impacted, like, what are we doing this for?”
Added Fowles, who was Moore’s teammate for two of the Lynx’s four championships, “Sports go hand-in-hand in what’s going on with things in the community. We try to do the little things that are important to us, and that we are very passionate about.
“Social justice happened to be that for us in Minnesota. We took pride in that,” Fowles pointed out.
As for Moore the star player, “Maya was definitely one of those players who just thought she can do any and everything,” said Fowles, who also played with Moore on the USA team. “Maya just had this itching about her, and I don’t think you find that in too many athletes. Yes, confidence is one thing, but knowing that you can’t do nothing…and actually going out to prove everyone was wrong because your wheelhouse is just that sharp, that was pretty impressive to me.”
Fellow HOF Class of ’25 member Dwight Howard said last Friday of Moore, “She was like the female [Michael] Jordan. That was what we were calling her.”
“I played so much basketball; I can’t be greedy,” stressed Moore, now a wife and mother. “I did everything I could have possibly done, and then did it again either from an individual standpoint, obviously from a team standpoint. I’ve just really enjoyed discovering who this phase of Maya is.”
The Naismith Basketball HOF Class of 2025 Enshrinement Weekend in Uncasville, Conn. and Springfield, Mass was a hustle-bustle affair for the inductees.
“This is a trip for my family,” said Moore. “Just reconnecting with some of my old teammates and their families. I look at this as a big family reunion.”
Sadly, Moore’s grandfather, who I got to know during his visits to Minnesota to watch his superstar soon-to-be HOFer granddaughter, recently passed away at age 93. “He always appreciated you,” concluded Moore of her late granddad.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.