Minnesota Lynx have fun Sylvia Fowles in final regular-season residence sport forward of WNBA legend’s retirement

MINNEAPOLIS — Because the Goal Middle crowd chanted “Syl’s Home!” and teammates and opponents alike regarded on with pleasure, Minnesota Lynx middle Sylvia Fowles soaked up the love Friday evening.

Fowles, a former MVP and the WNBA’s all-time-leading rebounder, will retire at season’s finish, and the Lynx and their followers wished to verify she felt appreciated. Fowles has spent the previous eight seasons of her 15-year WNBA profession with Minnesota, a spot that turned out to be an ideal match for the Florida native.

“What hit me the toughest within the ceremony was the followers,” Fowles mentioned of the postgame celebration that was held on the courtroom after the Lynx fell 96-69 to Seattle in Minnesota’s final regular-season residence sport.” Simply listening to them scream and provides me my flowers, let’s assume. It was good.”

Fowles has been one of the crucial dominant facilities ever in ladies’s basketball, courting again to her faculty profession at LSU, her seven years in Chicago after being chosen No. 2 within the 2008 draft, her Lynx tenure and her USA Basketball success, which included 4 Olympic gold medals.

Whether or not that is the final time followers will see her play on the Goal Middle courtroom remains to be not sure. Even after the loss, the Lynx are nonetheless clinging to an opportunity on the playoffs. Minnesota is now 14-21, a sport behind Phoenix and New York, who’re tied at 15-20 for the final two playoff spots.

The Lynx might want to win at Connecticut on Sunday after which hope both the Mercury (who play Chicago) or Liberty (who play Atlanta) lose that day. If all of them end at 15-21, the Lynx have the tiebreaker towards Phoenix and New York based mostly on head-to-head file.

“We nonetheless have yet another sport left,” mentioned Fowles, who had 13 factors and 12 rebounds Friday. “We nonetheless have a little bit lifeline. Tonight wasn’t our evening, so hopefully we exit and play higher on Sunday.”

Whereas it wasn’t an ideal sport for the Lynx, who allowed the surging Storm to shoot 52.8% from the sector in controlling the sport begin to end, it was a memorable evening for Fowles. Earlier than the sport, she and the Lynx honored Storm guards Sue Bird and Briann January, who’re additionally retiring at season’s finish. Fowles and Hen, the WNBA’s all-time assists chief, have been teammates on 4 Olympic squads.

“It simply hit me: How blessed am I that in my profession I’ve had an opportunity to be round these nice gamers?” mentioned Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who’s now Crew USA’s head coach and beforehand was an assistant. “Sue and Syl, that era, they took the baton from people who began the WNBA, they usually took this factor to a different degree.”

One other longtime Olympian, Seattle middle Tina Charles, joined Hen and another Storm gamers who stayed after the sport for the on-court ceremony for Fowles. As a lot admiration and respect because the Storm gamers have for her, the truth is they’d one thing to play for Friday, too: the No. four seed and home-court benefit of their first-round sequence with Washington. Seattle bought that with the victory.

“It felt bittersweet,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn mentioned. “As a fan of Syl and figuring out how superb she is, you do not need to wreck her evening, nevertheless it wasn’t ruined in any respect. A lot love within the stadium for her. Win or lose, it was going to be her evening and an ideal evening. Although we gained, it nonetheless was very particular for her, for the group, for the town, for us who love her as a competitor however as a buddy and as a teammate.”

Fowles went to the ladies’s Remaining 4 in all 4 of her seasons at LSU, after which helped the Sky make the WNBA Finals in 2014. However she wished an opportunity to play for the Lynx and sat out the primary a part of the 2015 season ready for a commerce. That got here in July of that yr, and Fowles then helped Minnesota win its third championship. The Lynx additionally gained the WNBA title in 2017. Fowles was Finals MVP each years and league MVP in 2017.

Former Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen, now the ladies’s basketball coach on the College of Minnesota, was readily available Friday to pay tribute to Fowles, whom she jokingly known as by the nickname “Sylvester Flowers.” Whalen, a starter on all 4 Minnesota title groups, mentioned that whereas the Lynx have been a championship squad earlier than Fowles got here, together with her they grew to become a dynasty.

One other former member of Minnesota’s championship core, present Lynx assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson, mentioned that Fowles gave her a hug after the 2 had confronted off as opponents years in the past. Brunson joked that she questioned at first if Fowles was taunting her. Then she realized that was simply how Fowles was: a fierce competitor in the course of the sport and a compassionate buddy to everybody as quickly because it was over.

“Not for a second was I disenchanted,” Brunson mentioned about attending to know Fowles as a teammate. “She was precisely what that hug mentioned: ‘I care about you, I assist you, I need to see you succeed. I am there for you it doesn’t matter what.’ She’s been that ‘hug’ for this group, too.”

Lynx proprietor Glen Taylor informed Fowles on the ceremony that he watched her play with the Sky and wished she was with Minnesota. Then, when the Lynx have been in a position to commerce for her, Taylor mentioned he bought to know Fowles and that they not often talked about basketball. Their conversations have been about methods to work locally and assist folks.

“What hit me the toughest within the ceremony was the followers. Simply listening to them scream and provides me my flowers, let’s assume.”

Sylvia Fowles

Reeve teased Fowles by beginning a “yet another yr” chant on the ceremony, then mentioned she knew the reply could be, “Not no, however hell no.”

Fowles, who will flip 37 in October, is averaging 14.6 factors, 9.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocked photographs per sport. She remains to be one of the crucial feared put up gamers within the WNBA. Reeve mentioned Fowles goes out on the prime of her sport as a result of “she by no means wished to look dangerous. She did not need to be a kind of outdated gamers that possibly ought to have give up two years in the past.”

Fowles mentioned she is able to transfer ahead in her life every time this season ends, however she is glad she returned for yet another yr. Initially, she did not need a variety of fuss over her farewell, which has been dubbed “Syl’s Final Experience” by the Lynx. Nonetheless, it has turned out to be a candy expertise for her.

“I am very joyful going by way of this entire course of this yr,” Fowles mentioned. “Firstly, I wasn’t too thrilled about it as a result of I did not need the eye. However you do have to understand that folks do perceive the work that you simply put in by way of 15 years.

“I am by no means searching for a straightforward method out. No matter must be finished that evening, I feel I am the primary one to step up and be prepared to do this. Me taking these tasks confirmed all through my profession, and I am very pleased with that.”