Minnesota Lynx retire former star Maya Moore's jersey in emotional ceremony after win over Caitlin Clark, Fever
Maya Moore won four titles during her eight seasons with the Lynx before she retired after the 2018 campaign
Maya Moore’s number is finally hanging in the Target Center.
The Minnesota Lynx officially retired the six-time WNBA All-Star's jersey number on Saturday night after their 90-80 win over the Indiana Fever in Minneapolis. Moore led the Lynx on four different championship runs during her eight seasons in the league.
Forever in the rafters #23 🙏
🔵 4x WNBA champion
⚪ 6x All-Star
🔵 1x League MVP
⚪ 1x Finals MVP
(via @WNBA)
pic.twitter.com/xLTHtNIj02— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 25, 2024
Moore was honored during an emotional ceremony after the game, where she was gifted a special Jordan brand jacket and gold shoes referencing her many accomplishments throughout her career.
Jordan Brand gifting Maya Moore-Irons a piece of her legacy 💙
Career memories turned treasures, a touching tribute to greatness. pic.twitter.com/MKlwQX7pBb— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2024
A SHOE CASE? nah that’s tough. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/kLuR2fEL1G
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) August 25, 2024
Moore is now the fifth player in Lynx history to have her jersey number retired. She joins Lindsay Whalen, Rebekkah Brunson, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles.
Several of her former teammates were in attendance for the ceremony, too, including Fowles and Brunson.
"You brought the best out of all of us, that’s how special you are." 🥹 - Rebekkah Brunson
Teammate to teammate, legend to legend. Maya's impact? Unmatched. ✨ pic.twitter.com/tMbv1YPdcR— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2024
Sylvia Fowles spilling the tea on Maya's "speed" 😂☕️
Turns out GOAT pace is a real thing.
Tune into Maya Moore Irons's jersey retirement LIVE on League Pass. Unlocked on the WNBA App, courtesy of @CarMax 💐 pic.twitter.com/DHlqNng7r0— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2024
The Lynx selected Moore with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 out of UConn, and she won Rookie of the Year honors during her first campaign while winning a title with the Lynx. They made it to the WNBA Finals five more times in the next six seasons while winning three more championships in one of the best stretches for a franchise in WNBA history.
Moore was the league’s MVP in the 2014 season, too, where she averaged a career-high 23.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. She finished her 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.
Moore is still the Lynx’s franchise leader in steals (449) and 3-point field goals made (530). She’s also the all-time leading scorer in WNBA Finals history with 441 points.
Moore announced that she was going to sit out the 2019 season to focus on both her family and her non-profit, “Win With Justice.” She dedicated herself to freeing Jonathan Irons from prison, which she eventually did in 2020. Irons was wrongfully convicted when he was 16 years old, and he spent 23 years in prison in Missouri. Moore and Irons then got married, 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 Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were in town. Clark, who has helped launch a massive new wave of interest in women’s basketball as a whole in recent years, was surprised by Moore during ESPN’s “College GameDay” when she was playing at Iowa in what was an emotional moment for the former Hawkeyes star.
It's 9:30 a.m., but the stars are out in Iowa City. @MooreMaya x @CaitlinClark22 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/0tc7xzLeTm
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 3, 2024
Clark warmed up in a Moore shirt before the game, too. Moore, who Clark first met at a basketball camp when she was a child, was asked about that initial interaction — which she admitted she didn't 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."
Maya Moore doesn’t specifically remember when she hugged Caitlin Clark all those years ago — she made time for a lot of young fans during her career.
In hindsight, she said, “it’s really, really cool to think about how one of those kids turned out to be Caitlin Clark.” pic.twitter.com/s6Z2IZS91O— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) August 25, 2024
The Lynx led nearly the entire way 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.