Maya Moore to sit out 2019 WNBA season

After speculation about whether or not she would return to the Minnesota Lynx this season, Maya Moore announced via an essay for the Players’ Tribune that she will not play in the league this season. Instead she will focus on building her ministry.

She wrote:

“My focus in 2019 will not be on professional basketball, but will instead be on the people in my family, as well as on investing my time in some ministry dreams that have been stirring in my heart for many years.”

Lynx head coach and general manager addressed Moore’s decision in a statement:

“As she recently shared, Maya has expressed a need to shift her attention more fully to family and ministry dreams in a way that she has been unable to as a professional basketball player. We support her in this exploration and will continue to provide her the love and care she has always known from her Lynx family.”

Moore, who has a long list of accolades in the league, with USA Basketball and as a collegiate athlete, has been one of the key components in the Lynx’s success since she was drafted as the No. 1 pick in the 2011 WNBA draft. She signed a four-year contract with the Lynx in May 2015.

Since her arrival in Minnesota, the Lynx have won four championships with Moore taking home the Finals MVP trophy in 2013.