page_title: Sylvia Fowles
section_title: Minnesota Lynx
hierarchical_section_title: Sylvia Fowles / WNBA career / Minnesota Lynx
caption_attribution_description: English: Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx (left). Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks (right)
context_page_description: Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. Fowles, who joined the Lynx in July 2015, was the MVP of the 2015 WNBA Finals, was named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in 2016, and won the 2017 WNBA MVP Award. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the reigning WNBA career rebound leader.
context_section_description: Fowles turned down a contract extension offer with the Sky in September 2014. She requested a trade but no trade offers from other teams for her had 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 a three-team deal that sent Érika de Souza to the Sky and Damiris Dantas and Reshanda Gray to the Atlanta Dream. Joining forces with Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen, the Lynx were a powerhouse in the Western Conference, finishing first place and advancing all the way to the WNBA Finals, facing the Indiana Fever. With the series tied 2-2 in the decisive game 5, Fowles proved to be relentless against the Fever, scoring 20 points along with 11 rebounds in a 69-52 victory. She was named the WNBA Finals MVP as the Lynx won their third WNBA Championship in five years.
  Following her first WNBA Championship victory, Fowles re-signed with the Lynx during free agency in February 2016.
  During the 2016 season, Fowles averaged 13.9 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 1.7 blocks per game. She would win Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career. The Lynx remained a championship contending team, finishing with a franchise best 28–6 record. With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Lynx were the number 1 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals (the last round before the WNBA Finals) facing the Phoenix Mercury. The Lynx defeated the Mercury in a 3-game sweep, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the fifth time in six years. The Lynx were up against the Los Angeles Sparks, making it the second time in league history where two teams from the same conference faced each other in the Finals due to the new playoff format. However, the Lynx were defeated by the Sparks in a hard-fought five-game series.
  In the 2017 season, Fowles would be the focal point of the Lynx's offense, leading the team in scoring. Fowles scored 26 points along with 10 rebounds in the Lynx's season home opener against her former team, the Chicago Sky in a 70-61 victory. On June 11, 2017, Fowles scored a season-high 30 points along with 9 rebounds in a 91-74 victory over the Dallas Wings. Fowles was also voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her fourth career all-star appearance. On August 12, 2017, the Lynx made history as they defeated the Indiana Fever 111-52, marking it the largest margin of victory in WNBA history, they also exploded on a league record 37-0 scoring run during the game. Fowles finished off the season averaging a double-double in points and rebounds for the fourth time in her career and also led the league in field goal shooting for the fifth time in her career. The Lynx would once again finish with the league's best record of 27–7, earning the number 1 seed with a double-bye to the semi-finals. On September 14, 2017, the WNBA announced that Fowles won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (Fowles had received 35 of 40 first-place votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters). 
  In the semi-finals, the Lynx defeated the Washington Mystics in a 3-game sweep, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the sixth time in seven years, setting up a rematch with the Sparks. With the series tied 2-2, Fowles set the Finals record for most rebounds in a game with 20 rebounds along with 17 points in Game 5 of the 2017 WNBA Finals, helping the Lynx win the game 85-76 and their fourth WNBA championship in seven years, tying the now-defunct Houston Comets for most championship titles. Fowles would also win her second Finals MVP award, becoming the fifth player in league history to win regular season MVP and Finals MVP in the same season.
  On May 23, 2018, Fowles put on a historic performance in a 76-68 victory against the Dallas Wings in which scored 23 points along with 20 rebounds and 5 steals, becoming the first player in Lynx franchise history to have a 20-point, 20-rebound performance, secondly making it the 18th in league history and also marking the league's first ever stat line of 20 points, 20 reboun
caption: Fowles and Parker
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