#MAYA MOORE RETURN TO WNBA FREE#
It would be another four months before he'd walk out a free man, but on this day, the victory was exalting. Jonathan Irons' conviction for burglary and assault had just been vacated after he'd been in prison for more than two decades. This was the day she'd worked for since the ball stopped bouncing in her superstar basketball career some 18 months earlier. It was a cold, rainy day, but the dreary weather could not drown out the joy in the courthouse. THE LAST TIME I saw Maya Moore face-to-face, she was retreating behind a closing door in Jefferson City, Missouri, on March 9, 2020. Maya Moore legacy extends far beyond basketball court
#MAYA MOORE RETURN TO WNBA UPGRADE#
Moore will be eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser “I just hope people take away from this the heartbeat of what we were trying to do, which was being more human and more caring and more compassionate, and also saying it’s OK to grieve what’s worth grieving.” Our personal story with Jonathan was just at the forefront for me over these last few years and shifting away from the game. “That actually ended up bleeding into my life, getting the courage to say, ‘Let’s hold on and give attention to what matters most,’ which are people, and people thriving, and people’s well-being. “I think whenever you pause and stop something great to say there’s something more important, that gains attention, as it should,” Moore said. Moore will continue focusing on social advocacy, community work and criminal justice reform. While Moore missed her teammates, she said she was too centered on her work the past four years to have been truly tempted to return to basketball. You don’t know how the game will unfold, but you do your best to prepare.” That’s life, right? A lot of it is unexpected, but you also try your best to be prepared. “This has definitely been unexpected, but at the same time, it’s been really thoughtful, planned and prepared.
“I couldn’t have written this story like this,” she said. Among her other accolades: WNBA Rookie of the Year (2011), WNBA Finals MVP (2013 which she won in Atlanta – “To do that in one of my home states, such a sweet memory,” she said), WNBA MVP (2014) and being named on Time’s 100 Most Influential People (2020). She won four WNBA championships with Minnesota and two Olympic gold medals with USA basketball (2012, 2016). She was a three-time Big East Player of the Year and won NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2010. She twice won AP College Player of the Year (2009, 2011), the John Wooden Award (2009, 2011) and Naismith College Player of the Year (2009, 2011). Moore won consecutive national championships with UConn, as the Huskies went 150-4 over her collegiate career, including a 90-game winning streak. In July, Max Preps named her one of its top 20 athletes of the past 20 years. She scored 2,664 points and secured 1,212 rebounds. The Eagles went 125-3 and won three state championships in her high school career. She was the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and National Gatorade Player of the Year at Collins Hill, becoming the top recruit in the country in 2007. That path began in the Atlanta area, where Moore was one of the best athletes in state history.Įxplore Maya Moore, who put career on hold, helps overturn prisoner’s conviction
Sports Illustrated called Moore the greatest winner in the history of women’s basketball.