Before the Lynx face the Sparks on Tuesday night, we’re going position by position and taking a look at the matchups that will define the first-round playoff contest. Next, two franchise centers who have been going against each other their entire careers…

The 2008 WNBA Draft gave us two era-defining centers in this league: Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker. Parker went No. 1 and Fowles went No. 2, and they’ve been fighting for superiority ever since.

In their 11^th seasons, neither player is showing any signs of slowing down. This season, Fowles averaged 17.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. Those rebounding, assist and steals numbers are all career highs. Fowles also shot an incredible 61.9 percent from the field and set a new WNBA single-season record for rebounding.

Parker also had a good season (but not as good as Fowles’). She averaged 17.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. Parker also shot 34.5 percent from the three-point line.

Fowles is arguably the best defensive player in the WNBA, and her ability to contain Parker on Tuesday night will be critical. Both the Lynx and the Sparks like to play through their centers, so if Fowles can limit not only Parker’s scoring but her passing as well, the Lynx will be in good shape. Same goes for the Sparks. Los Angeles will undoubtedly throw multiple defenders at Fowles, so Fowles’ ability to fell double-teams coming and find the open player will be huge. Or she could just beast on them.

Fowles is one of the best if not the best post player in the league, and her inside presence does so much for Minnesota on both ends of the floor. Don’t be surprised if the Sparks try to use Parker’s shooting to pull Fowles out of the paint.

Fowles and Parker are both going to get theirs on Tuesday night, but the winner of this matchup could easily end up being the MVP of the game. The rivalry between Parker and Fowles has given us so many incredible games, there’s no reason to expect anything different tonight.

Read the rest of the series:

Lindsay Whalen vs. Odyssey Sims
Seimone Augustus vs. Chelsea Gray
Cecilia Zandalasini/Rebekkah Brunson vs. Nneka Ogwumike