Sylvia Fowles

Sylvia Fowles

Fowles in 2011.
No. 34 – Minnesota Lynx
Position	Center
League	WNBA
Personal information
Born	(1985-10-06) October 6, 1985 Miami, Florida
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Gulliver Preparatory (Coral Gables, Florida)
College	LSU (2004–2008)
WNBA draft	2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Chicago Sky
Playing career	2008–present
Career history
2008–2014	Chicago Sky
2008–2010	Spartak Moscow
2010–2012	Galatasaray Medical Park
2015–present	Minnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards
WNBA champion (2015) WNBA Finals MVP (2015) 3× WNBA All-Star (2009, 2011, 2013) 2× WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2011, 2013) 2× WNBA blocks leader (2010, 2011) WNBA rebounds leader (2013)
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals Representing the United States Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team competition 2012 London Team competition World University Games 2005 Turkey Team Competition FIBA World Championship for Women 2010 Brazil Team Competition

Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles (born October 6, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA. Fowles, who joined the Lynx in July 2015, was MVP of the 2015 WNBA Finals. She is 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall and weighs 200 lbs (90.7 kg).

Personal

She was born in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, the daughter of Arrittio Fowles. She has three brothers, Walter, Jeremy, Morris, and one sister, Dorothy. Sylvia grew up in some of the rougher neighborhoods of Miami-Dade, including Coconut Grove, Little Haiti, and the Victory Home Housing Projects. She attended Little River Elementary School, Horace Mann Middle School, Miami Edison Senior and graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School.

High school career

She also led Edison Senior High School to two state championships before transferring to Gulliver Preparatory School. Fowles averaged 20.6 points and 11.6 rebounds at Gulliver and led them to the class 3A state championship against Melbourne Central Catholic High School. Fowles was also named a McDonalds All-American. Fowles was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored fifteen points, and earned MVP honors.

College career

Fowles (right, #34) pitted against Candace Parker in the opening tipoff of the 2008 NCAA Final Four

Fowles played in all 36 of LSU's games as a freshman, helping the team to an appearance in the NCAA Final Four. As a sophomore, she started all 35 games and again helped the team reach the Final Four. In her junior year, she led LSU to the Final Four again and earned All-American honors.

Fowles was named to the pre-season All-American team prior to her senior season. She dunked the ball in the Lady Tigers' game against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on November 21, 2007, becoming the sixth woman to dunk in an American college game.

In December 2007, Fowles suffered a partial tear of the meniscus of her right knee during a game against the University of Miami. She then underwent surgery and missed several weeks of play.

Fowles was named the 2008 SEC Player of the Year. During a March 24, 2008 NCAA Tournament game, she broke the all-time SEC record for career rebounds. She led LSU to the Final Four again in her senior year.

Fowles finished additional academic credits after beginning her professional basketball career and received her bachelor's degree from LSU in the spring of 2009.

LSU statistics

Source

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004-05	LSU	36	426	57.6	-	59.2	9.0	0.3	1.4	2.8	11.8
2005-06	LSU	35	557	60.7	-	58.3	11.6	0.3	1.9	2.1	15.9
2006-07	LSU	38	643	57.1	-	61.2	12.6	0.4	1.2	2.1	16.9
2007-08	LSU	35	608	58.4	-	61.6	10.3	0.6	1.5	2.0	17.4
Career	LSU	144	2234	58.4	-	60.1	10.9	0.4	1.5	2.2	15.5

WNBA career

Fowles was selected 2nd overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2008 WNBA Draft. After being drafted second overall, she is averaging 10.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for the Chicago Sky.

Fowles dunked on her second attempt during the 2009 WNBA All Star Game while representing the Eastern Conference after everyone on both teams cleared out of her way. Her first attempt clanged off the bottom of the rim. The game took place on July 25, 2009 at Mohegan Sun, the home of the Connecticut Sun. She is the third WNBA player to dunk in an all star game, following Michelle Snow in 2006 and Lisa Leslie in 2005.

Fowles turned down a contract offer with the Sky in September 2014. She requested a trade but no trade offers from other teams for her have been sufficient. She sat out the first half of the 2015 WNBA season until she was traded to the Minnesota Lynx on July 27, 2015 as part of three-team deal. On, October 14, 2015 in a decisive and pivotal finals game 5, Fowles proved to be relentless against the Indiana Fever pouring in 20 points and 11 rebounds. She was named the WNBA Finals MVP as the Lynx won their third WNBA Championship in five years.

Overseas career

Fowles played for Spartak Moscow in Russia during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 WNBA off-seasons.

She played for Galatasaray Medical Park of Turkey between 2010-12 seasons.

USA Basketball

Fowles was a member of the team representing the USA at the 2005 World University Games Team in Izmir, Turkey. In the game against China, she led her team in scoring with 23 points. In the semi-final against Russia, she led the team with 25 points, helping the team win 118–67. Fowles averaged 15.0 points per game, and 7.3 rebounds, both team highs, and helped the team to a 7–0 record, resulting in a gold medal at the event.

Fowles is a member of the United States women's national basketball team and she earned a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Fowles was again invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team traveled to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they competed in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.

Fowles was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball. This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010.

In 2010, Fowles was named to the national team which competed in the World Championships in Ostrava, and Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The team won all nine games to win the gold medal. They help all opponents to no more than 75 points, while scoring in triple digits four times. The win against Australia by eight points was the only game with a single digit margin of victory. Fowles averaged 8.9 points per game over the course of the tournament.

Fowles was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball payers, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which would represent the USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where the USA victory brought Fowles her second Olympic gold medal.

WNBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
TO	Turnovers per game	FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
Bold	Career high		League leader

Awards and honors

• 2005 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year
• 2005 Second-team All-SEC
• 2005 SEC All-Freshman
• 2005 Honorable Mention All-America (AP)
• 2005 & 2006 First-team All-Louisiana
• 2005 Louisiana Freshman of the Year
• 2006 First-team All-SEC
• 2006 Third-team All-American (AP)
• 2007 SEC All-Tournament Team
• 2007 First-team All-American (ESPN.com, Wooden Award, USBWA)
• 2007 Second-team All-American (AP)

• 2007 Kodak All-America
• 2007 First-team All-SEC
• 2007 Fresno Regional MOP
• Member of the 2007 United States Senior National Team in Italy
• Member of the 2006 United States Senior National Team in Australia
• Member of the 2005 United States World University Games Gold Medal Team
• 2008 WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year
• 2008 SEC Player of the Year
• 2009 WNBA All-Star Selection
• 2010 WNBA All-Star Selection
• 2010 WNBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
• EuroLeague Women 2010–11 All-Star MVP Award

See also

• 2008 WNBA Draft

External links

• Sylvia Fowles at WNBA.com
• Sylvia Fowles at Basketball-Reference.com
• LSUSports.net biography
• Official LSU National Player of the Year Promotional Site
• http://www.bdasports.com/ssp/athletes?bio=160

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tina Charles	WNBA Peak Performer (Rebounding) 2013 season	Succeeded by Incumbent