Mitchell Hansen
Web Editorial Associate
Twitter
The Minnesota Lynx learned on Tuesday morning that at least two players will represent them at the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game in Seattle.
Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore were voted in as Western Conference starters for the game on July 22 at KeyArena.
“It means they have a lot of fans and a good voting system. I’m proud of any of our players that get this sort of recognition,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “It’s obviously deserved in both their cases. It’s good to be recognized.”
The recognition of being voting in as starters are certainly well-deserved for both Fowles and Moore, who are off to nice starts to the 2017 season, leading the Lynx to a WNBA-best start.
“I’m excited,” Fowles said. “For me to get back to see what it feels like and see different faces that we go and face day-in and day-out and just have fun. At the same time, making sure you are being smart and getting back to the team in one piece.”
Fowles is having an MVP-calibar season, averaging a career-high 20.1 points, 10 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game through 15 games.
Her efforts were recognized in the voting results, as she finished first in the West in player rank and media rank and third in the fan rank to tie with Moore for the best weighted score among West frontcourt players.
“That’s exciting and it says a lot about the work that I’ve been putting in,” Fowles said. “My teammates have been helping me along the way, so I’m pretty excited about that.”
Moore is having another solid year for Minnesota, averaging 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Moore finished first in fan rank, second in player rank and fourth in media rank to tie with Fowles for the best weighted score among West frontcourt players.
“I think the older I get the more I appreciate it. You realize how hard it is to continue to play at a high level,” Moore said. “It’s definitely appreciated and it’s a privilege. We only have a few chances at it because of our Olympic years, so hopefully you’re all healthy to go and give the fans a little extra treat.”
There will be more familiar faces to Lynx fans that will be making appearances at the All-Star Game later this month. Cheryl Reeve, along with her coaching staff, will be in charge of coaching the Western Conference during the game.
“It will make it easier, just to have our coaching staff,” Fowles said. “It’s no drop-off going from our team to the All-Star Game. I’m pretty sure she’ll be smart and I’m just looking to have fun.”
For Fowles, it will be her fourth All-Star appearance, while Moore will be making her fifth appearance in the game.
And for the two Lynx standouts, the recognition is certainly well-deserved.
The Lynx will find out if any more players will join Fowles and Moore on July 18. The All-Star reserves, who will be selected by the Eastern and Western Conference head coaches, will be announced on during ESPN2’s telecast of the Seattle Storm vs. Chicago Sky game on July 18. That game will begin at 8 p.m. Central Time.
“It means a lot to the players, for a lot of reasons. From my standpoint, it means we were a darn good team the year before and I never want to take that for granted,” Reeve said. “Hopefully we’ll have even more than the two (players) coming with us, because sharing that with them is something special.”
First Twitter Game On Friday
The Lynx will play in their first Twitter game on Friday night against the Phoenix Mercury in Phoenix.
Twitter announced before the season they will live stream 20 games throughout the next three WNBA seasons. Minnesota will make its debut on Twitter at 9 p.m. Friday night.
Friday’s game is the first of three games this season that the Lynx will can be seen on Twitter. The next two games will come on Aug. 25 in San Antonio and Aug. 30 in Indiana.