Sylvia Fowles' dunk was talk of the WNBA All-Star Game

"You don't think a 36-year-old with a bum wheel is going to be the one that will dunk," said Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

July 11, 2022 at 7:30PM
Sylvia Fowles was introduced before the WNBA All-Star Game on Sunday in Chicago. (Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, Sylvia Fowles said.

Fowles, the Lynx center, was playing in the All-Star Game Sunday in Chicago when, in the second quarter, she stole a pass, dribbled in alone and dunked the ball. It was her first dunk in more than a decade.

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As she made her way down the court Fowles was engulfed by ecstatic Team Wilson teammates. Then she pointed to Dawn Staley — her head coach at the most recent Olympic Games — winked and smiled.

"The dunk happened unexpectedly,'' Fowles said. "It just happened.''

To Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve — who was at the game, too — it was about time. She'd been ribbing Fowles since June 28, when Fowles stole the ball, went in alone but just took a layup. "I was like, 'Why don't you dunk that thing?'" Reeve said.

"But it just surprised everybody,'' Reeve said about Sunday. "You don't think a 36-year-old with a bum wheel is going to be the one that will dunk. It was a fun moment.''

  • The Lynx signed Nikola Milic to a third seven-day contract Tuesday.
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about the writer

Kent Youngblood

Reporter

Kent Youngblood has covered sports for the Star Tribune for more than 20 years.

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