Minnesota Lynx

Jonathan Irons, who was convicted of burglary and assault in 1998 and sentenced to 50 years in prison, was officially released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center on Wednesday, according to Kurt Streeter of the New York Times. 

WNBA star Maya Moore put her basketball career on hold in part to help Irons overturn his conviction. The four-time champion and former Rookie of the Year and MVP stunned the basketball world when she sat out the 2019 season. Moore had met Irons while doing prison ministry in 2007 and formed a friendship with him. 

Her efforts to help Irons culminated in Missouri Judge Daniel Green throwing out Iron's conviction in March, citing issues with both the investigation that led to the charges and the case the prosecution made against Irons, calling it "very weak and circumstantial at best." Green specifically pointed out fingerprint evidence that was not turned over to Irons' defense team, which his lawyers said "would have supported their contention that someone else had committed the crime." 

"Until Maya Moore got involved, [Irons] just really didn't have the resources to either hire counsel or hire investigators," Irons' attorney Kent Gipson told Katie Barnes of ESPNW. "It's big to sacrifice a year of your career in your prime to do that."

After a series of failed appeals by Missouri's Attorney General Eric Schmitt, St. Charles County lead prosecutor Tim Lohmar was given the decision to retry the case. He declined, freeing Irons. 

Irons, then 16, was convicted of breaking into the house of Stanley Stotler, then 38, and shooting him. Stotler picked out two Black men in a lineup weeks after he had been shot, one of them Irons, and later identified him in court. But per Streeter, "There was no corroborating witness to the crime, nor were any fingerprints, DNA or blood evidence implicating Irons presented in court."

Prosecutors also claimed Irons had confessed to the crime to a police officer during questioning, though Irons denied that story. As Streeter reported, "The officer who interrogated him did so alone and did not make a video or audio recording of the conversation. Asked for his interview notes, the officer said he had thrown them away."

Irons, 40, served 22 years of the 50-year sentence. 

It's unclear if Moore, who also chose to skip the 2020 season, will ever return to the court. But it is clear that she's found purpose in criminal justice reform.

"God says: Mankind, God has given you one thing to do," she told Barnes. "Seek justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. That's what I've been trying to do."

Maya Moore will miss her second straight WNBA season in 2020.

According to the New York Times' Kurt Streeter, the Minnesota Lynx star plans to sit out "so she can continue to push for criminal justice reform and the release of Jonathan Irons, a man she believes is innocent of the crime for which he was sentenced to prison."

Moore told Streeter: "I'm in a really good place right now with my life, and I don't want to change anything. Basketball has not been foremost in my mind. I've been able to rest, and connect with people around me, actually be in their presence after all of these years on the road. And I've been able to be there for Jonathan."

Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve issued a statement about the development.

"Over the last year we have been in frequent contact with Maya around the great work in criminal justice reform and ministry in which she is fully engaged," she said. "We are proud of the ways that Maya is advocating for justice and using her platform to impact social change."

Moore first announced on the Players' Tribune last February she wasn't going to suit up for the Lynx in 2019. She told Streeter in June that she had become focused on criminal justice reform.

Moore said she met Irons, who is serving a 50-year sentence for burglary and assault after being tried as an adult at 16, during a trip to the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri in 2017.

The 30-year-old remains one of the WNBA's biggest stars. A four-time champion and the 2014 MVP, she averaged 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals through her first eight seasons.

By making her decision public now, Moore provides the Lynx with some time to recalibrate their roster if necessary. Teams can officially begin contract negotiations with free agents Jan. 28.

Seimone Augustus and Danielle Robinson are Minnesota's only free agents, and the 35-year-old Augustus acknowledged after last season that retirement is a possibility. She said in May she was looking to walk away after the upcoming campaign.

Moore's hiatus is unlikely to change much for the Lynx.

Her absence provided a silver lining, allowing younger players to assume larger roles than they might have otherwise.

Napheesa Collier averaged 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc en route to winning Rookie of the Year. Lexie Brown was a 38.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc and averaged 7.6 points while excelling as the backup point guard.

Assuming they continue to improve alongside the veteran duo of Odyssey Sims and Sylvia Fowles, an improvement on their 18 wins from 2019 is attainable for the Lynx even without Moore.

Minnesota Lynx guard Odyssey Sims was arrested June 6 on suspicion of driving under the influence in Minneapolis. 

According to an arrest report obtained by Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune, Sims was pulled over for speeding and a lane violation around 1 a.m. After she failed three field sobriety tests, Sims had two breathalyzer tests, one showing a reading of .206 and another at the police station showing .20. The legal limit in Minnesota is .08.

"The Minnesota Lynx are aware of the reported incident involving Odyssey Sims," the Lynx told the Star Tribune in a statement Wednesday. "As an organization we take these matters very seriously and continue to wait for the legal process to run its course and will have further comment when appropriate."

Sims has continued to play despite her arrest and was in the lineup less than 24 hours after the incident, putting up 15 points and six rebounds against the Phoenix Mercury. She is averaging 15.2 points, 4.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds through the team's first 11 games.

Sims is facing two gross misdemeanor charges of third-degree DWI and is due back in court July 16.

Maya Moore is stepping away from professional basketball.

The Minnesota Lynx guard announced she would be sitting out the 2019 WNBA season and not playing overseas in an article for the Players' Tribune:

"My focus in 2019 will not be on professional basketball, but will instead be on the people in my family, as well as on investing my time in some ministry dreams that have been stirring in my heart for many years.

"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.

"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."

Moore, 29, has spent her entire WNBA career with the Lynx. She's led the team to four championships while being named to five All-Star teams and seven All-WNBA teams. In addition to her WNBA career, Moore has had a successful career overseas, winning two Euroleague titles and three Chinese league championships.

Moore most recently played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia.

The 6-foot guard also won gold medals in 2012 and 2016 with Team USA and earned MVP honors as part of the winning squad at the 2014 FIBA World Championship. She was named one of the 20 greatest players in WNBA history in 2016. Moore also claimed a pair of NCAA titles at UConn.

Minnesota Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve isn't ruling out trading anyone—including stars Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles.

"There’s nobody untouchable. I think a lot of GMs would say that," Reeve told reporters. "There’s certainly preferences. But I think that we’re in a place where any phone call that comes—and talk about anybody—you listen to it.

"We’ve had labels of untouchables in the past. Would it take a whole lot to move a player or two? Absolutely. But at this point, we are open to how we have this roster shaped going forward.”

Moore has led the Lynx to four WNBA championships since being the first pick in the 2011 WNBA draft. She won the 2014 WNBA MVP award and 2013 Finals MVP. The 2018 season saw her be named an All-Star for the fifth time and win her third All-Star Game MVP.

She signed a multi-year contract with the Lynx in 2015.

Fowles has been Moore's co-star since coming over to Minnesota in 2015. She won the 2015 and 2017 Finals MVPs and has been an All-WNBA selection each of the last three seasons.

The 32-year-old played from 2008 until 2014 with the Chicago Sky. 

BR Video

The WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx didn't get an invite to the White House, so they spent their trip to Washington, D.C., serving the community. How did the Lynx make the most out of their east coast swing? Watch above to see their day to remember.

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The Minnesota Lynx are not messing around.

On Friday, the team's Twitter account responded to a user who made a misogynistic comment with a pitch-perfect statement from head coach Cheryl Reeve: Delete your account.

The Lynx, who have won four of the last seven WNBA titles, continue to pick up W's.

The internet can be a snarky and downright mean place at times, but sometimes it's the best. 

And when four-year-old Liliana got a chance to meet Maya Moore—whom she mimicked while standing in front of a billboard of the Minnesota Lynx superstar, which in turn went viral—it was an example of the internet at its finest:

The Lynx showed the two meet again at Friday night's game:

Liliana picked a pretty good player to admire. Moore, 28, was the 2014 WNBA MVP and is a five-time All-Star and four-time title winner. She's averaging 15.8 points and 6.4 rebounds this season for the defending champions.

Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles was named the 2017 WNBA MVP on Thursday. 

Fowles was widely expected to win the award after she averaged 18.9 points and 10.4 rebounds a game in the regular season. The 31-year-old helped the Lynx post the WNBA's best record (27-7) as well.

"It's a proud moment for me to standing here as the 2017 MVP," Fowles said upon winning the MVP award, per play-by-play announcer John Focke.

According to WNBA.com, Fowles collected 35 of the 37 first-place votes. Tina Charles, Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike and Jonquel Jones rounded out the top five. Fowles is the second Lynx player to receive the honor, joining Maya Moore, who won it in 2014.

Fowles was named to the All-WNBA first team on Tuesday.

Whereas the traditional back-to-the-basket center is falling out of favor in the NBA, it's enjoying a renaissance in the WNBA thanks in large part to the efforts of Fowles, who was dominant on both ends of the floor. 

In addition to finishing fifth in scoring average, she tied Elizabeth Williams for second in blocks per game (2.0). According to Basketball Reference, Fowles was second in offensive rating (126.7) and first in defensive rating (90.7). Her 9.0 win shares were also best in the WNBA.

Fowles will have a big say in whether the Lynx win their fourth WNBA title in seven years. She helped give Minnesota a 1-0 lead over the Washington Mystics in the semifinals by scoring 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in a 101-81 victory Tuesday.

The Minnesota Lynx made WNBA history Friday night by scoring 37 consecutive points against the Indiana Fever.

The WNBA tweeted the following video of Minnesota's run, which saw it go from leading 22-9 to leading 59-9:

Minnesota took a 68-23 lead over Indiana into halftime, and they ultimately cruised to a 111-52 win. The 59-point margin of victory was the largest in WNBA history, per Fox Sports North. 

Friday's matchup looked one-sided on paper, as Minnesota leads the league with a 21-5 record, while the Fever are 11th out of 12 teams at 9-19.

The Lynx have won three WNBA championships, and they boast a star-studded roster led by Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus, all of whom were key in the 37-0 run.

Minnesota entered the night on a two-game losing streak having dropped close contests to the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm.

The Lynx also surprisingly lost 84-82 to the Fever on Aug. 6, but they exacted revenge in a big way Friday night.