Inside the moment that defines Maya Moore Irons’ spectacular career with the Lynx

There were 1.7 seconds left in a tie game, in a tied WNBA finals series, in a very loud arena in Indianapolis.

Minnesota Lynx ball.

Out of a timeout, coach Cheryl Reeve inserted Lindsay Whalen — unable to play much of the game, much of the series, because of an Achilles injury — just to make the inbounds pass. She knew the play, knew Maya Moore Irons, knew what to do.

The first option? Sylvia Fowles, down low. Covered. Up top, Indiana guard Marissa Coleman was in the passing lane. So Moore Irons faked one direction, drifted. Whalen faked a pass inside, then lofted the ball to her.

We return to the 2015 finals, Game 3, not solely out of a sense of nostalgia, though that’s a big part of it. This weekend is all about nostalgia. On Saturday night, the Lynx will retire Moore Irons’ jersey. It will be joined in the Target Center rafters with the others: Whalen, Fowles, Seimone Augustus and Rebekkah Brunson. This on a night Minnesota hosts the Indiana Fever, whose star rookie guard, Caitlin Clark, grew up adoring Moore Irons’ play.

The starting five on two of the Lynx’s four WNBA titles together, again. Whalen said seeing all five jerseys together will lend a finality to her about that time she hadn’t felt before. Fowles reflected on how humbling it will be to see them all together and the almost overwhelming sense of sisterhood.

You can’t distill an amazing career to 1.7 seconds. Moore Irons won two NCAA titles at Connecticut, four WNBA titles, two world championships, two Olympic golds. She was MVP both of the 2013 finals and the 2014 season. She visited the White House so many times Barack Obama joked she should keep a toothbrush there.

Former Washington coach Mike Thibault called Moore Irons impervious to pressure and difficult to plan for because of her unpredictability. Reeve joked that often the Lynx didn’t know what she’d do, either.

But if one play captures the greatness of Moore Irons’ game, it was that one. The willingness to accept the pressure, the calmness to execute, the ability to launch the shot with about two-tenths of a second left, the flair to hold her shooting pose as the ball went in and the arena went quiet.

“That is the most obvious scene, right?” said Moore Irons. “There were other pressure moments: needing a rebound, a stop. But that’s the one. I think about that game. Such a beautiful example of our team. Lindsay coming in hurt because we have this awesome connection. Me improvising up top. Sylvia drawing attention down low. I did what I’ve done a million times. Upfake, dribble, put the shot up. I was in the moment.”

Rushing the shot might be expected. Moore Irons had, a lot, in practice. But not this time. She caught the ball, stepped behind the three-point line. Upfake, putting Coleman on her heels. One dribble right, shot.

But there were so many moments. All of her former teammates talk about the buzz Moore Irons — the No. 1 draft pick in 2011 — brought at their first practice together. The Lynx, filled with talented veterans, knew they’d be good, and then Moore Irons parachuted in. She was confident, yet humble. Connecting with teammates, fitting in while standing out, benefiting from having joined a team already good.

She wasn’t the best player on the team as a rookie. “But there was an immediate feeling that lifted our team into this incredible space,” Reeve said. “I’ll always remember that first day.”

Brunson said all she needed to do was come in and be Maya. “She was the missing piece, really, to what we needed to really go over the top. We had a confident group, and then you add that piece.”

Moore Irons had only one speed. She was relentless. Kayla McBride, a Notre Dame grad who just finished her rookie season, was at the 2015 game, sitting behind the Fever bench. She calls her first game trying to guard Moore Irons her welcome-to-the-WNBA moment. Whalen said Moore Irons’ play was relentless. “When you have Maya on your team, you never feel you’re out of it.”

Augustus said Moore Irons was all about winning. Board games, basketball, whatever. “She had a fire,” Augustus said. “And when she came to the Lynx, everyone had that same fire going.”

Moore Irons lives life the same way. She was part of the team’s response to the 2016 death of Philando Castile. She became involved in her social justice quest before leaving the game after the 2018 season, helped get Jonathan Irons’ wrongful conviction overturned, ultimately marrying Irons and starting a family. How she attacks her post-basketball life mirrors the lessons learned playing for the Lynx.

“That’s the way I live my life, trying to be present in every moment,” Moore Irons said. “I know it takes preparation, sacrifice, to be able to give that.”

The 2011 rookie of the year, Moore Irons was atop her game by 2015, having already won MVP. In a game the Lynx needed to win — they’d have been down 2-1 with another game to play in Indianapolis — she delivered.

Many lament her leaving the game after nine seasons. Moore Irons counters: What was left to do on a court? “I got to do everything I dreamt of doing, and in a Lynx jersey,” she said. “And I was able to do it multiple times. I was able to do things people dream of, with people who are special. Now it’s time for other players to make their path. No regrets.”

Under the basket, Brunson battled Tamika Catchings, Fowles with Erlana Larkins. Augustus was on the wing, covered by Briann January. Once she got the ball, Moore Irons went to work, taking almost all of those 1.7 seconds.

In the stands, McBride remembers the sudden, incredible silence. Moore Irons? Her teammates’ screams.

Fowles: “It was maybe the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Reeve said it was like a movie, in slow motion. “It felt still, still,” she said. “The shot is traveling, it gets quiet, you’re waiting for it to get there.”

What a wild scenario.

A picture of that shot hangs in the Lynx locker room. Everyone sees it each day. Players like Napheesa Collier, who came from the same Missouri hometown, met Moore Irons when she was in middle school, also went to UConn, and then the Lynx.

Moore Irons was able to walk away from the game. No regrets. But there are times she thinks back. The wins, the road lunches with her teammates.

“Playing for the Lynx, that rhythm of life,” she said. “I really do marvel at what we were able to do. I know how hard it is to do what we made look easy.”

This is the best kind of full-circle moment. When she came through Minneapolis for the first time as a WNBA rookie, Clark talked about growing up watching Moore Irons. About driving up from Iowa with her dad to watch games, about how she hugged Moore Irons once after a game, how gracious she was.

This all makes Moore Irons smile. There are so many memories. All the titles, the victories, the awards. Moore remembers the team partying at Prince’s house after the 2015 title was won on the Target Center floor; ice packs on her knees, up until 3 a.m.

On a team of greats, Reeve said Moore Irons was unique. “More of a generational player than any of the others,” Reeve said, “in that she could do everything at her position.”

But it’s more about her impact.

“It brings a smile to my face knowing those moments weren’t in vain,” Moore Irons said. “There are so many hard things in life, but so many good things, too. That keeps paying itself forward. It’s seeing the game grow.”