WNBA Legend, Maya Moore Officially Announces Retirement

Written by Berson Eliancy

We were first introduced to Maya Moore as a young freshman guard on UConn’s Women’s Basketball team in 2007. Her resume at UConn is decorated with two national championship titles, multiple player of the year awards, and the title of being one of the greatest players to ever attend the program. Fifteen years later, on January 16th, 2023, Maya Moore officially announced her retirement from the WNBA after taking a four year hiatus from the league.

Moore’s contribution to not only the WNBA, but basketball as a whole is cemented in the history of the game forever. After being drafted as the number one overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2011 WNBA draft, Moore wasted no time putting the league on notice as she went on to win the Rookie of the Year award. Like most basketball greats, Moore’s dominance in the league lasted the entirety of her career. In eight seasons, Moore averaged an impressive 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. She led the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA titles, where she was named MVP once, while also decorating herself with six All-Star game appearances where she was named MVP three times. Her most dominant year came in 2014 where she averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. That same year, she was recognized as the league’s Most Valuable Player.

We have often celebrated Moore for her elite play on the court, however the work that she has done in the four years removed from the sport must not go unnoticed. In the midst of her four-year hiatus, Moore shifted her focus towards criminal justice reform. Interestingly so, Jonathan Irons, a longtime friend of Moore, and now her partner, was wrongfully convicted by an all-white jury for an incident that occurred when he was a minor and was sentenced to fifty years in prison.

Upon hearing of this news, Moore decided to step away from the WNBA and respond to her calling to do more impactful work. She spent the last few years attempting to get Irons’ sentence reversed, in which she was successful, while also working hard to spread awareness about the injustices faced by black men within the legal system. Though Maya Moore walked away from the game in her prime, her greatness proves to have no bounds. Her impact on the court will live on forever to inspire not only young women with hopes of playing basketball at the next level, but also those who wish to challenge injustice in this country.