{"id":952371,"date":"2026-07-22T18:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/952371\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T18:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:34:17","slug":"sylvia-fowles-receives-hall-of-fame-treatment-in-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/952371\/","title":{"rendered":"Sylvia Fowles receives \u2018Hall of Fame\u2019 treatment in Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The postgame ceremony honoring Sylvia Fowles<\/a>\u2019 inductions to various halls of fame was old hat for most of the Target Center faithful. Over the last handful of seasons, Lynx fans have seen the number of each member of the famed dynastic starting five take their places in the rafters alongside the four championship banners they helped raise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maya Moore<\/a>\u2019s No. 23 was the last of the legendary quintet to see her number go up. A tradition that started with Lindsay Whalen<\/a>\u2019s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction in 2022 has been the hall of fame \u2018makeover\u2019 the banner receives following induction. The Lynx added the \u2018Hall of Fame\u2019 tag to Whalen\u2019s banner during the 2023 season, Seimone Augustus<\/a> received hers last year, and Saturday night saw Fowles\u2019 get the same treatment. Moore\u2019s will bear the same words at some point in the future, and there\u2019s little doubt in the Minnesota Lynx community that Rebekkah Brunson<\/a>\u2019s No. 32 will require additional wording as well someday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AThe light shines on Sylvia Fowles\u2019 retired No. 34 jersey with the \u2018hall of fame\u2019 treatment complete in the Target Center rafters. (Photo credit: John McClellan | The IX Sports)<\/p>\n

The practice is part of the fabric, both literally and figuratively, of the culture the Lynx stand on. A culture that builds for the future by maintaining connection with the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such an important part of our culture,\u201d Minnesota Lynx president of business operations Carley Knox told The IX Sports. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of pride in the connection with our former players \u2026 To have absolute legends that are still so invested in the Minnesota Lynx, that have so much wisdom with all of their success and to be able to talk to the players about it after practice. To have that really authentic connection with our former players, both on the coaching staff and the ones that continue to come back every year and wanting to remain connected to the organization is pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

The weekend saw the return of fellow Lynx legends like Augustus, Taj McWilliams-Franklin<\/a>, Jia Perkins<\/a>, and Katie Smith<\/a>. A typical weekend in which a Lynx legend is honored includes at least one big group dinner and at least one practice visit with the current team. For the first time since the tradition of the hall of fame makeover started, the practice visit wasn\u2019t in the cards. <\/p>\n

Fowles returned not only a conquering hero and Lynx legend, but also a member of the opposition as an assistant coach with the visiting Portland Fire \u2014 a new and competitive wrinkle to the celebration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean I hate it for Syl, but I hope we ruin her night,\u201d Napheesa Collier<\/a> said with a laugh after the team\u2019s shootaround on Saturday morning. \u201cIt\u2019s all love. When we\u2019re stepping between the lines you\u2019re competitors and you want your team to win, but as soon as that\u2019s over, she [was] here for how many years? She\u2019s such a part of the identity of the Lynx, so no matter the outcome of the game, I think everyone\u2019s going to be happy to celebrate after.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Rare Gems\u2019 is out now!
<\/strong>
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n

If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d <\/p>\n

Fowles echoed that sentiment before the game tipped off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a testament to how great Cheryl is and what she does year after year,\u201d Fowles said. \u201cTo have this night against us, of course I want to get the win, to ruin their night and make my night a little bit better, but I think Cheryl is thinking the same thing. She wants to ruin my night, but celebrate me afterwards.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As they say, \u2018two things can both be true.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThis recognition for Syl is pretty incredible,\u201d Reeve said during her pregame press conference. \u201cObviously, her jersey\u2019s already hanging in the rafters, but to be acknowledged as a Hall of Famer, a Naismith Hall of Famer, just really impressive. So happy to have her back and get to talk to her a little bit more and for everybody to love on her, I think it\u2019s going to be a fun night for her. Hopefully not too fun from a basketball perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fowles\u2019 Lynx legacy of course includes the splendor of multiple championships, Finals MVPs, and the 2017 WNBA MVP award. As a member of the Chicago Sky, Fowles sat out the first half of the 2015 WNBA season to help facilitate a trade to Minnesota, marking one of the biggest acquisitions in franchise history. Whalen mentioned in her remarks at the postgame ceremony that there\u2019s no way the Lynx could have raised their third and fourth championship banners without Fowles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The banners and the rings are what made up the gaudy headlines. Though, for Reeve, a decision Fowles made before the\u00a02019 season, well after the championship parties and parades were over, after Whalen retired and Moore stepped away from the game, is what endeared Fowles to her forever.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Reeve highlighted one moment when asked what defined who Fowles is as both a person and player for the Minnesota Lynx. That moment came in 2018, when, as Reece said \u201cthe band was breaking up.\u201d \u201cI went to Syl\u2026\u201d, sat down and said, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re a great player, a future hall of famer, I\u2019d imagine you want a shot at competing for another championship. I\u2019ll help you, you know, just tell me where and I\u2019ll help you get there.\u2019 She stood up and said, \u2018What are you talking about? This is home. I\u2019m not going anywhere else. This is where I want to be and I want to help us keep this thing going.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lynx may still be chasing that elusive fifth championship, but Fowles\u2019 decision to stay in Minnesota helped shepherd in a new era of Lynx basketball without undergoing a hard rebuild. Most importantly, her presence helped jump start the career of Collier and ensured the promising rookie from the University of Connecticut would experience playoff basketball in each of her first three seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSyl was the first person to embrace me when I came to Minnesota,\u201d Collier said. \u201cShe\u2019s the kind of person that everyone knows her for the kind of person she is, and not the player, which says a lot because she\u2019s a Hall of Fame player. To have someone like her be my vet, I just feel really lucky, so of course I want to celebrate her as much as possible. To have her here tonight to be able to do that is really special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily<\/strong>
<\/strong>
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n

As the Lynx turned the page post-dynasty, they remained competitive and reached the semifinals during the 2020 \u2018Wubble\u2019 season before losing to the eventual champion Seattle Storm. Collier earned Rookie of the Year honors playing alongside Fowles in 2019, and also earned WNBA All-Star honors in both 2019 and 2021 (there was no All-Star game in 2020).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just the importance of making people feel welcome and cared for,\u201d Collier said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to come into the league. You\u2019re surrounded by people who have been here for years, people you\u2019ve looked up to, so to have someone like your vet take you under their wing and make you feel at home, it\u2019s everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fowles provided that veteran presence and guidance to Collier, but she was quick to credit the culture she came into after that iconic trade in 2015 for paving the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started before me,\u201d Fowles said during pregame. \u201c[Others] did that for me. I think that\u2019s just the culture we have here in Minnesota. I came into thing like we\u2019re going to play well, but at the same time have fun. To see those rules that we stand by today still take place through [Kayla McBride<\/a>] and Napheesa, and it\u2019s going to carry on, so you just got to credit the young women that came before us that set those standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Fowles is helping to set those standards in Portland, a burgeoning franchise charting its own path in a new era of WNBA basketball. She\u2019s one of several players from those dynasty years who has found their way into the coaching ranks: players who accomplished so much for women\u2019s basketball, now coaching the game\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\"ASylvia Fowles poses with the rest of the Portland Fire after her hall of fame honors ceremony at Target Center in Minneapolis. (Photo credit: John McClellan | The IX Sports)<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game ended in another Lynx win, their fifth in a row, with a final score of 101-93. As Collier predicted, both teams were happy to celebrate the Hall of Famer afterwards, with the entire Portland Fire team on the floor for the ceremony as well. A fitting scene merging the franchise Fowles starred in for so many years and the new franchise she\u2019s helping to lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMinnesota is definitely that stepping stone of what I needed to put a stamp on what my legacy should be,\u201d Fowles said. \u201cJust the things I came into, how we want to do things here pretty much made me fit into home. I didn\u2019t have to claim it before that, I just kind of fell into that by how we ran things here. I\u2019ll forever bleed this blue and green. This is home at heart forever and I\u2019m just happy to have \u2018Hall of Fame\u2019 and my jersey hanging up in these rafters alongside a lot of great players up there.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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