The three WNBA representatives that were part of this year’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 struck different tones in their speeches.
First up among the W contingency was Sylvia Fowles who, of course, built a storied career as one of the best bigs in WNBA history. Said career included a stint with the Chicago Sky and, of course, with the Minnesota Lynx where Fowles won a pair of championships in the latter half of the team’s 2010s dynasty.
Of course, many a women’s basketball fan also remembers her wearing the purple and gold hues of LSU – but Fowles made sure to remember where she came from – and the values instilled in her to lifted her to greatness.
Before Fowles spoke, she was visibly emotional and holding back tears. This was the second time she gave a Hall of Fame speech – she spoke at the Tennessee Theater back in June at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Fowles spotlighted two moments as a youth that were turning points in her basketball career. One was when she tried playing basketball as an eighth grader and saw what that led to. Fowles’ high school career growing up in Miami included stints at Miami Edison and at Gulliver Prep in nearby Coral Gables.
It was a life-changing moment for an inner-city kid with no real dreams.
–Sylvia Fowles, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
What particularly made an impact on Fowles was when she arrived at LSU. As someone who led her Gulliver Prep team to a state championship and was also a McDonald’s All-American, Fowles could have easily been the stereotypical high school star who entered college with a large ego.
To Gulliver Prep – thank you for allowing me to be authentically myself. Transitioning from public school to a private school was not easy.
–Sylvia Fowles, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
But when LSU coach Sue Gunter mentioned how Fowles would not be guaranteed a starting spot, this connected with her.
It reminded me of how I raised. Nothing was ever given, but it was earned. I knew LSU was the right fit for me.
–Sylvia Fowles, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Playing for LSU was one of the best decisions of my life and that decision was primarily because of Sue Gunter. People often ask me why I chose LSU and it was because of Sue’s honesty.
–Sylvia Fowles, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
For those that remember Fowles’ Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame speech, she struck a similar tone during those remarks on emphasizing the importance of being authentically herself – both good and bad. She described herself as “flawed, fierce and free” in her comments back in June.
Being true to oneself is not only a basketball lesson – it is a life lesson. Unfortunately, too many individuals fall for this trap of not being true to oneself in hopes of being someone that they are not.
Fowles was even herself when she delivered her remarks in Springfield. When she first stepped to that lectern and microphone, holding back her tears was a challenge. That was Fowles expressing what she was feeling in that moment – she was thinking about all of the work she did throughout her career that led her to that point where she has joined a very exclusive club.
Her remarks may have been the shortest of the three WNBA players that were honored this past Saturday. Fowles’ remarks were relatively short and sweet as well in Knoxville. But it was her being her.
Just as Fowles was her being her when she accepted the challenge of having to earn a starting spot at LSU. Just as Fowles was her being her when she helped the Lynx win two more championships in the 2010s in the latter half of that dynasty.
She was also being her when she won Finals MVP in both 2015 and 2017 – and when she earned All-Star honors on eight occasions, was All-WNBA First Team three times and Second Team five. Not to mention when she won four gold medals.
She achieved the success and greatness that she did because she stayed true to who she is. Fowles achieved immortality in both Knoxville and Springfield because she did not become something she is not.
She bet on herself, stayed true to herself and Sweet Syl achieved one of the sweetest moments in her life as she knows generations from now will walk through the halls of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame seeing her jersey, her photos and her name.
