The Minnesota Lynx honored former point guard and franchise legend Maya Moore after their game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever by hanging Moore’s number 23 jersey in the rafters of the Target Arena.
Moore became just the fourth Minnesota Lynx player to have her jersey retired and all four played critical parts in building the Lynx dynasty that won four WNBA titles during the 2010’s. Moore joins Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles, Rebekkah Brunson, and Seimone Augustus in the Lynx’s exclusive club.
According to ESPN, Moore was emotional in front of the Lynx home record crowd of 19,023 and she also received honors in the form of gold pairs of her shoes and a letterman-style jacket from the Jordan Brand, which made her the brand’s first-ever female athlete signed by the company in her 2011 rookie season.
“My life is an example of what it
looks like when we love a little girl well,” Moore said to the crowd. “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.”“The journey that I had was not expected, but it was exactly the journey that I was supposed
to go on,” Moore continued. “And so the way my life was going and the amount of effort and presence that was required from where I was going, as each year went along, it didn’t look like I could shift back, but I just wanted to stay in the moment and also just keep things open until I was really sure. I kind of don’t want this night to end. Some of my favorite people in the world are here with me.”In her speech, Moore referenced her time away from the WNBA, which she used to help free her now-husband Jonathan Irons, who was wrongfully convicted and released from prison in 2020 after serving 23 years for a crime he did not commit. Because of that effort, and her family with Irons, she chose not to return to the WNBA at the height of her basketball career.
According to The New York Times, Moore led the Lynx’s Black Lives Matter protests in 2016, and in 2019, she announced that she would be stepping away from basketball in large part to help with Irons’ case. Moore ended up taking a two-year hiatus, getting married to Irons in 2020, and starting a family with him in 2022.
Moore officially retired almost exactly a year ago, and on multiple occasions she has reiterated that she is not returning to basketball. Now, it becomes official with her jersey retirement on a night that highlights her basketball legacy.
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark spoke to CNN ahead of the game, referring to Moore as the biggest influence on her desire to play basketball as a young girl.
“She was the person for me growing up,” Clark said. “Those are the type of people you want your young daughter to idolize. And it’s crazy that I get to play in this building. I played in this building in college and then playing here now, as a pro. It kind of comes full circle. But Maya (Moore) was definitely that person for me and she was obviously tremendous.”
Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier, who grew up in the same town and went to UConn like Maya Moore, has been
having an incredible season, and were it not for the incredible play of Aces forward A’ja Wilson this season, would be the prohibitive favorite to win MVP. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who also coached Moore, told ESPN that another piece of Moore’s legacy can be found in Collier’s success in Minnesota.“The impact of Maya Moore is that Napheesa Collier got to dream of one day being like Maya Moore,” Reeve said.
RELATED CONTENT: Former WNBA Player Maya Moore Celebrates Birth of Baby Boy With Husband She Helped Free From Prison