Lynx center Sylvia Fowles named to WNBA's all-defensive first team

The former league champion and Olympic gold medalist played her final season in 2022.

August 30, 2022 at 10:02PM
Lynx center Sylvia Fowles blocked a shot from Seattle’s Tina Charles during a game on Aug. 12. (Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Lynx center Sylvia Fowles was named to the WNBA's all-defensive first team Monday, the 11th time in her career she made that postseason team and the eighth time she was on the first team.

The 35-year-old retired after the 2022 season, her 15th in the league. She led the league in field-goal percentage and rebounds, and finished her career with 721 blocks, third most in league history.

She played the final eight seasons of her career with the Lynx after seven seasons with Chicago, played on two WNBA championship teams in Minnesota (2015 and 2017) and was the Finals MVP both times.

Fowles is an eight-time WNBA All-Star and won four Olympic gold medals with Team USA. She is also a four-time WNBA defensive player of the year, and won this year's Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award.

The other members of the WNBA all-defensive first team are A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas, Breanna Stewart of Seattle, and Washington's Ariel Atkins and Natasha Cloud.

The second team features Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut; Gabby Williams and Ezi MacGregor of Seattle; and Brittney Sykes of Los Angeles.

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Miller

Editor

Chris Miller supervises coverage of professional sports teams. He has been at the Star Tribune since 1999 and is a former sports editor of the Duluth News-Tribune and the Mesabi Daily News.

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