Dishin & Swishin 07/29/15 Podcast: With Big Syl, the pressure is on the Lynx, and Maya Moore would not have it any other way
What a week to be Maya Moore! First, she drops 30 points in the All-Star game including eight in a row to lead the West to victory, earning Most Valuable Player. Follow that with the dropping of the first Jump Man brand sneaker for women, the Air Jordan 1 GS “Maya Moore,” kicks that rock the Air Jordan logo on the side but have “MM” where the Jump Man logo would be. Top it off with the Minnesota Lynx adding fellow Olympian and former All-Star Sylvia Fowles to their already star-studded lineup for the second half of the year. And it is only Wednesday!
As the Lynx prepare to play the Los Angeles Sparks tonight, with Fowles and Sparks’ former WNBA MVP Candace Parker making their return to the court, Moore returns to Dishin & Swishin to discuss the addition of Big Syl, the Jump Man kicks, and more.
One word that can be used to describe Moore is a winner. Only 26, assorted Moore teams have won championships in high school, college, the WNBA, EuroLeague, the FIBA World Championships, the Olympics and the Women’s China Basketball Association. In many of those competitions she was named Most Valuable Player just to put the icing on top.
Still, another word that can be used to describe Moore is spiritual; when you see her on the court burying jumpers, signing autographs for little girls, and conducting interview with media, there is a calm there that is rare. It is a serenity that seems to indicate a level of comfort in being who you are; a person with extraordinary basketball skills, but also tremendous interpersonal skills and respect for people. These are things that come from a sense of family and community, not just a sense of self.
Consider this, Moore joins NBA elite players Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony as players with their own Air Jordan 1 sneakers. Moore is the face the Jordan Brand chose to preside over the first Jordan Classic girls high school basketball All-Star game in New York this year (discussed in the podcast).
Now consider the ESPN “My Wish” piece, where Moore hung out with 14-year old Ariya Smith, who has Lupus. As she says in the podcast, Moore was profoundly touched by Smith, and probably came out of this experience as thrilled as the youngster.
It allows an exhausted Moore, having just won the All-Star game MVP, be led by a photographer to his granddaughter, who had caught a mini-ball and desperately wanted Moore to sign it. Moore still put on a big smile, talked to the girl, and signed her ball happily.
The Lynx are in first place in the Western conference, and despite missing Seimone Augusuts for a while longer, and losing Asjha Jones and Lindsay Whalen to varying amounts of games in the first half, no one is feeling badly for them. Fowles gives them five former Olympians on their roster in Moore, Fowles, Whalen, Jones, and Augustus, and that does not even mention Rebekkah Brunson, who is one of the most under-awarded stars in the WNBA for years.
The pressure is on for the Lynx to win a championship this year; in fact, anything less than that and the decision will be continued a disappointment. That is exactly the way Maya Moore wants it. It means it is Maya Time, starting tonight.
Enjoy the podcast!
