Aces All-Star praises WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles ahead of Minnesota trip

The WNBA seeing off two players this season that surely will be part of the league’s history.

The Aces faced off against one of them Wednesday night as they lost to Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm.

They see the other Friday night, when when play the first of two games against Sylvia Fowles and the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis.

Fowles is a two-time champion and four-time gold medalist.

“Syl and Sue deserve their flowers, 100 percent,” Aces forward A’ja Wilson said. “They’ve given so much to this league.”

Fowles has been one of the most impactful figures in the WNBA for more than a decade. She’s an eight-time All-Star, the 2017 league MVP and a seven-time All-WNBA selection. Wilson considers Fowles a mentor and an inspiration.

Last seaosn she led the Lynx to the No. 3 seed. She averaged 16 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while winning her fourth defensive player of the year award that year, all during her age-35 season.

Fowles announced her intention to retire ahead of the season, and the league named her a co-captain for the July 10 All-Star game. She missed several games with an injury, including her last regular-season game in Las Vegas, but Wilson thinks more can be done to recognize Fowles’ career and impact on the WNBA.

“I’m not the one on WNBA social posting,” she said. “I’m not the one going up to Syl and asking her about an article.”

Wilson believes the league’s diversity means there are plenty of opportunities to share more unique stories, especially ones which feature Black women. Watching Fowles succeed helped Wilson believe she could ascend to similar heights, and the Aces All-Star thinks it’s important for Black women to be seen as visible leaders in the WNBA community.

“It’s always good to let those young girls dream,” Wilson said. “If you can see her, you can be her.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamshita on Twitter.