39 Facts About Maya Moore

1.

Maya April Moore was born on June 11,1989 and is an American former professional basketball player.

2.

Maya Moore played forward for the UConn women's basketball team and won back to back national championships in 2009 and 2010.

3.

Maya Moore was selected as the John Wooden Award winner in 2009 after leading Connecticut to an undefeated national championship.

4.

Maya Moore was the first overall pick in the 2011 WNBA draft and joined a Minnesota Lynx team that already featured all-star caliber players in Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, and Lindsay Whalen.

5.

From 2013 to 2015, Maya Moore won the Chinese league title every year.

6.

Maya Moore won a second Euroleague title playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2018.

7.

Maya Moore was included in Times 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

8.

Maya Moore was born on June 11,1989, in Jefferson City, Missouri.

9.

Maya Moore was only the second junior to win the Naismith award Her first dunk was one-handed off an alley-oop pass in warm-ups at a dunk contest in Charlotte, NC in December 2005.

10.

Maya Moore helped lead her high school to four consecutive state championships appearances, including three Georgia state titles and the 2007 National Championship.

11.

Maya Moore is a three-time Georgia 5A Player of the Year and 2007 Miss Georgia Basketball.

12.

Maya Moore finished as the runner-up in the high jump at the 2005 Georgia State 5A Championships.

13.

Maya Moore received several awards for her performance her senior year, including the 2007 WBCA National Player of the Year, 2007 Parade Magazine All-America of the Year, and 2007 Morgan Wootten Award Winner which is presented to the McDonald's All-America Player of the Year.

14.

Maya Moore played for the Georgia Metros 16U Nike Travel Team in both 2005 and 2006.

15.

Maya Moore won Best Women's College Basketball Player at the 2010 ESPYs.

16.

Maya Moore was an impressive college student: she graduated with a 3.7 GPA, earning the Elite 88 Award, and was named Cosida Academic All-America First-Team in 2009,2010 and 2011, Cosida Academic All-America of the Year in 2010 and 2011 and All-sports Academic All-America of the Year in 2011.

17.

Maya Moore was selected 1st overall in the 2011 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx.

18.

In October 2011, Maya Moore became only the second player in league history to win Rookie of the Year honors and a WNBA championship in the same year.

19.

In 2013, Maya Moore elevated her game, she led the Lynx in points, and became the first player in WNBA history to lead the league in both three-point field goals and three-point shooting percentage.

20.

On July 22,2014, Maya Moore scored a career-high 48 points, the second highest single-game total in WNBA history.

21.

Maya Moore was named to the All-WNBA First Team in 2015.

22.

In 2016, Maya Moore was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.

23.

In February 2019, Maya Moore wrote for The Players' Tribune that she would miss the upcoming season to focus on family and ministry dreams.

24.

From 2019 to 2023, Maya Moore took a hiatus from her WNBA career to focus on reform in the American justice system.

25.

On January 16,2023 Maya Moore announced on Good Morning America that she is officially retiring from basketball.

26.

In 10 EuroLeague Women games, Maya Moore averaged 12.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists, helping Ros Casares win its first ever EuroLeague championship on April 1,2012.

27.

In 2012, Maya Moore signed with the Chinese club Shanxi Flame, playing under Spanish coach Lucas Mondelo.

28.

Maya Moore was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009, one of only three college players and the only junior to be invited to the training camp.

29.

Maya Moore was one of 21 finalists for the 2012 US Women's Olympic Basketball Team Roster.

30.

Maya Moore won a gold medal with Team USA in 2012, in doing so joining Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Ruth Riley, Tamika Catchings and fellow UConn alums Kara Wolters, Swin Cash, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi on the elite list of female basketball players to have won NCAA titles, WNBA Championships and Olympic gold medals.

31.

Maya Moore made the final roster of 12 players, announced on September 23,2014.

32.

Maya Moore won the gold medal with the team in 2014, having now won 3 gold medals with the US team.

33.

Maya Moore took a sabbatical from basketball in 2019 and 2020, hoping to secure his release.

34.

In September 2020, Maya Moore told Good Morning America that she and Irons had gotten married "a couple of months ago".

35.

On July 5,2022, Maya Moore announced the birth of their first child, a son named Jonathan Irons Jr.

36.

On October 28,2013, Maya Moore was featured as Betty Lou in the Pepsi Max series of advertisements written and directed by Kyrie Irving, becoming the first WNBA player to be a part of the series.

37.

Maya Moore was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30: The Sports World's Brightest Young Stars for 2015.

38.

In November 2016, Maya Moore joined the UNICEF Kid Power philanthropic initiative, participating as one of the UNICEF Kid Power Champions; Maya Moore joined a mission to Haiti that year.

39.

Maya Moore was chosen 36th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the third round of the 1976 NBA draft, though he did not play in the NBA.