Sylvia Fowles reflects on Women's Basketball HOF induction, her connection to the Lynx, Napheesa Collier and more: 'Still in awe'

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The hands of Sylvia Fowles, once utilized for snagging rebounds and swatting shots, are actively in a bunch of different cookie jars. Metaphorically, of course.

She travels for pleasure, no longer required to squeeze next to teammates on a commercial flight en route to games. Instead of hearing about family tales over the phone while playing overseas, she is part of them during school drop-offs for her nieces and nephews and milestone events.

Fowles is simply enjoying her retirement from a decorated WNBA career filled with a trophy case of accolades that made her an easy first-ballot decision for the Hall of Fame. The two-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP and four-time Defensive Player of the Year will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday and the Naismith Hall of Fame later this year.

“I’m still in awe at my career that I had,” Fowles told Yahoo Sports this week. “I know I say this a lot, but when you’re playing, you’re pretty much on autopilot. You’re not really thinking about the accolades that you’re receiving. Your mindset is, ‘How can I stay healthy? How can I be a better player than I was last year? How can I be a better teammate? How can I be a better leader?’

“I wasn’t really paying attention to all the things I was doing throughout my career and so when I retired and had a chance to go back and see some of the things that I did, I’m still in awe of myself and some of the things that I’ve done.”

Fowles, a dominant 6-foot-6 traditional center, played her way to 11 all-defensive honors, eight All-Star nods and the 2017 MVP over a 15-year career spanning the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx. In each 2015 and 2017 championship season for the Lynx, she earned Finals MVP to cement a dynastic legacy alongside Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Lindsey Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson.

The last playing member of the group, Fowles exited following the 2022 season as the league’s all-time leader in rebounds (4,006), field goal percentage (59.5%) and double-doubles (193), while ranking top-10 in points (6,415), player efficiency rating (25.3) and blocks (721). She holds the Lynx record for many of those same categories. (Tina Charles surpassed her rebounding and double-double marks.)

With more space and time to reflect, Fowles’ admiration of her career stems from a different direction.

“I’m definitely proud of how I led my team and not having to tell too much, but also leading by example,” Fowles said.

The 2025 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction class includes WNBA legends Sue Bird, Alana Beard and Cappie Pondexter; collegiate coaches Mark Campbell and Lucille Kyvallos; and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association executive director Danielle Donehew.

Fowles, Bird and former Lynx teammate Maya Moore will be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame on Sept. 6 in Springfield, Mass. Fowles and Bird, a fellow 2022 retiree, became eligible when the Hall reduced the waiting period from three full seasons after retirement to two. Moore last played in 2018, but did not officially announce her retirement until 2023.

It is the largest Naismith women’s player class in at least the last decade, and the largest percentage of women’s committee selections within a class in that time span.

“Naismith, that’s like top-tier and harder to get in,” Fowles said. “And so it makes you appreciate it a tad bit more because you know [there’s] not too many women going in, one, and to be able to get in on the first ballot also I think says a lot.”

Fowles, known as “Mama Syl” to both teammates and opponents, stays abreast of the league and is very “hands-on” with the Lynx. (As for the loss to Seattle that snapped their undefeated streak, Fowles thinks it will ultimately “relieve a lot of pressure off them” moving forward.) She said she talks every day to Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, the longest tenured coach in the league, whose system she described as “just unreal.”

“That's why you've been seeing so much success with this team,” Fowles said. “Because they believe in what she’s doing. Nobody has egos. And everybody just does their job. I think once you get that in your mind that we can win by doing it this way, the results are great.”

The Lynx are coming off a heartbreaking Game 5 Finals loss to the New York Liberty in their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2017. All five starters returned, led by the league’s leading scorer, Napheesa Collier.

Of the players Fowles keeps in touch with, her former rookie is at the top of the list. The 2019 No. 6 overall draft selection came back 74 days after giving birth to her daughter, Mila, in 2022, specifically to play a few final games with Fowles. If not for a record-breaking season by A’ja Wilson, Collier could have won her first MVP a season ago and is the odds-on favorite to do so this fall.

“It’s crazy that she’s getting all this recognition now,” Fowles said. “I guess it’s her time. But you think back when Napheesa came in as a rookie, she was pretty damn good. I think you’re just now seeing a culmination of all the things that she was really good at that was overseen. And I think she’s also, too, stepped into this womanhood of, ‘I own who I am and I’m going to show you who I am.’ And it’s a beautiful thing to see her flourish into that role.”

As quick as Fowles played at the rim, she isn’t rushing to the next role of her own quite yet. She continues to knit items for friends and family, but doesn’t want to make her enjoyable hobby a job. She’s still considering a career as a mortician after studying mortuary science and working part-time in funeral homes during the latter part of her WNBA career.

She revels in staying connected with the Lynx, but isn’t prepared for a full official role. Reeve “pushes the thread every year” asking if she’s ready to return, she said.

“I won’t say no, that it’s not in my future plans,” Fowles said. “I definitely would say I’m more open to it than I was two years ago.”

Later this month, she’ll make a trip to Minnesota to see Collier and the team in person. She’s been slacking, she said, and the visit is long overdue.

That’s the beauty of being a Hall of Famer. The hard work is done. Now she can experience everything and anything she wants at her own leisure.