Such huge news for the WNBA came down on Tuesday that doesn’t bode well as the league tries to get more viewers, not lose them.
Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx announced on Tuesday that she will not be playing in the WNBA this season, instead focusing on her family and “some ministry dreams that have been stirring in my heart for many years.”
She made that announcement via the Players’ Tribune:
“There are different ways to measure success. The success that I’ve been a part of in basketball truly blows my mind every time I think about it. But the main way I measure success in life is something I don’t often get to emphasize explicitly through pro ball,” she wrote.
“I measure success by asking, ‘Am I living out my purpose?’ I learned a long time ago that my purpose is to know Jesus and to make Him known.”
Minnesota prevented Moore from becoming a free agent just last month when they applied the franchise tag on her, yet hours before her announcement, Moore signed a contract with the Lynx.
“As she recently shared, Maya has expressed a need to shift her attention more fully to family and ministry dreams in a way that she has been unable to as a professional basketball player,” Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve said in a statement. “We support her in this exploration and will continue to provide her the love and care she has always known from her Lynx family.”
The 29-year-old Moore took some time off in the Winter after the Lynx got dropped out of the playoffs in the 1st-round in 2018.
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“I will certainly miss the day-to-day relationships with my teammates and basketball family this season, but my no for the 2019 pro season allows me to say yes to my family and faith family like I never have before,” she wrote.
“I’m sure this year will be hard in ways that I don’t even know yet, but it will also be rewarding in ways I’ve yet to see, too. I’m thankful to my Lynx family and others close to me who have been walking with me during this shift, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Her decision got praised by many, including Golden State Warriors guard:
The first overall pick in the 2011 draft has gotten the Lynx to the playoffs every single year that she has been there, including six WNBA Finals appearances. Her career averages are 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
