Like a fine wine, Sylvia Fowles has only gotten better with age. The 31-year old
center from Miami is in her 10th year in the WNBA and is putting together a
season to remember. She can break you down in the post, finish with contact on
the offensive end and send any opponent’s shot flying several rows into the
crowd. Fowles was just selected to her fifth All-Star game and started for the
third time in her career in Seattle.
This season, Fowles has been a menace on both ends of the floor. She’s averaging
20.1 points per game, which ranks fourthh in the league, and 9.8 rebounds per
game, which ranks third. She’s one of two players in the WNBA this season
averaging at least 20 points and 9 rebounds per game and has the highest
offensive rating of any starter in the association.
Fowles’ impressive first half of the 2017 season has moved her higher and higher
on several WNBA all-time leaderboards. She’s the league’s all-time leader in
field-goal percentage (min. 2,500 attempts), knocking down 58.7% of her career
attempts, and is 7th on the all-time blocks list with 497 swats. She’s also just
outside the top 10 in rebounding, with the 11th-most boards of all-time.
Despite the impressive statistics, Fowles doesn’t just pad the box score for
herself; she makes the players around her better. After being traded to the
Minnesota Lynx about halfway through the 2015 WNBA season, Fowles helped the
squad win its third title and was named the 2015 WNBA Finals MVP. The following
year, she led the Lynx to their best regular season record in franchise history,
playing in all 34 of the team’s regular season games. This year, Minnesota had
the best record in the WNBA headed into the All-Star weekend break. The Lynx are
16-2, with their only losses coming to the Connecticut Sun on June 17 and the
Chicago Sky on July 8.
It’s hard to imagine that the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, five-time
All-WNBA Team center and five-time WNBA All-Defensive First Team selection has
never won the WNBA MVP, but this may very well be her year. This season, Fowles
has the chance to lead the league in field-goal percentage for the fifth-time in
her career. She will also have the opportunity to win the WNBA blocks and
rebounding title for the third and second times, respectively, in her impressive
journey throughout the league.
From her 10 double-doubles in 18 games this season, to her five games with 3+
blocks, Fowles has certainly made her case for MVP during the first half of the
2017 WNBA season. Her PIE, or player impact estimate rating, is a 21.1, which
ranks second among starters. She’s also leading the WNBA in player efficiency
rating at 33.08 score, which is two points higher than the second-highest rated
player, Nneka Ogwumike. 2017 may very well be the Year of Sylvia Fowles, and if
it is, the Lynx could be poised for a fourth championship.
