Maya Moore has officially retired from basketball. She walked away four seasons ago to work on social justice issues and help overturn the wrongful conviction of her future husband, Jonathan Irons.
“Well, I think it’s time to put a close to the pro basketball life,” she said. “I walked away four seasons ago but wanted to officially retire. This is such a sweet time for us and our family. The work we’ve done, I want to continue that in our next chapter. Be home for my community and family.”
College
Moore had a fantastic basketball career. she played her college basketball at UConn and helped lead them to two national championships. Moore was also named Naismith College Player of the Year twice, won the John R. Wooden Award twice, and was two-time AP College Player of the Year. The UConn stand-out finished her college career averaging 19/9 points per game on 50% shooting from the field and 40% from the three-point land.
WNBA
Moore was taken with the No.1 pick of the 2011 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. Once Moore was drafted to Minnesota, it started a huge run for the Lynx. In seven years, the Lynx made the WNBA Finals six times. They won titles in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 and Moore took the WNBA Finals MVP in 2013.
In Moore’s Lynx career, she averaged 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. She won Rookie of the Year in 2011, was a WNBA first-team selection five times, and was a six-time All-Star. Moore also won the WNBA All-Star game MVP three times and was WNBA MVP in 2014.
“When we say Maya is a winner, you do winning things,” Cheryl Reeve said to ESPN in a 2020 interview. “Winning things would be attention to detail, a drive to always improve, and, in my view, humility. I think humility is what helps you be great. You have a confidence, certainly have an ego, but you understand how much you need people around you. And that was very much Maya.”
Moore played in Spain, China, and Russia, along with the former Lynx star’s other accolades. She also won two gold medals for the United States in the Summer Olympics and FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Moore was a fun player to watch; she could score on all three levels and played defense. She is one of the best players ever to play basketball. If she had kept playing, she would have easily been the best player in WNBA history.
