“Over the last year, it finally felt right to just close the chapter,” Maya Moore shared last year when she officially announced her retirement from basketball after an incredible career with the Minnesota Lynx. In a heartfelt tribute to their beloved star, the franchise revealed this year that they will retire Moore’s jersey as an honor. And they did tonight, 24th August, at the Target Center.

With this honor, the 35-year-old Maya Moore will join an elite group that includes a former teammate who shared much of her career with her at the Lynx. Like Moore, Seimone Augustus was celebrated by the Minnesota organization two years ago when they retired her jersey. Tonight she cheered on her teammate of 8 years, with whom she helped the Lynx secure their only 4 championships.

Augustus now an assistant coach to the Louisiana State Women’s basketball team, walked parallel with Moore until 2019. And maybe why Moore walked towards her with the first shoe of gold Maya Moore-Irons, that Jordan Brand gifted in celebration of her legacy tonight.

So let’s take a closer look at the connection and the shared legacy between these two iconic hoopers of Minnesota.

How Seimone Augustus indirectly facilitated Maya Moore’s WNBA debut in Lynx

It was in 2011 when Moore was selected in the WNBA draft by the Lynx. Augustus was already a well-known name and in fact a key player for the franchise by then, with her ROTY and 2 All-Star appearances. Now what might come as surprising for everyone is that an unfortunate event for Augustus might have played a role in Moore joining her team.

Minnesota Lynx wasn’t the best of teams in the 2000s. Though a good start in 2009 with 3 wins, unfortunately for them, Seimone Augustus, who was the lead scorer averaging 21 points, suffered an ACL tear. This limited her to just 6 games that season. Nicky Anosike then solely led in points, rebounds, and assists, and the team went 14-20; finishing fifth in the conference, missing playoffs.

It wasn’t much different in the campaign that followed. Augustus was once again plagued by health concerns that limited her game starts to just 5 of the total 25 she played. Though Lindsay Whalen was an excellent addition, the team lost 7 of the first 9 games without Augustus. The momentum could not get them back in the game, finishing 13-21.

Call it their fortune now that the combined regular season record for the two seasons pushed the Lynx into the WNBA draft lottery for 2011. Among three others with poor records, Minnesota won the lottery for 2011 first draft pick. Maya Moore, already a college basketball star by then, was an obvious choice.

Thus, with her, arrived the best decade for Lynx, that any team had ever seen. Moore won her Rookie of the Year averaging 13.2 points and well-experienced and healthy Augustus was phenomenal, scoring 16.2 points every game.

Moore and Augustus then went on to win their second title in 2013 where the former she was also the Final MVP. And this time the newcomer outclassed Augustus’ performance, scoring 18.5 points per game, however the later did play her role averaging 16.3 points.

No one with a better combination then. The two themselves attest.

A legendary duo: Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus’ shared achievements

“I’m hard pressed to think of another dynasty that had a better combination of talent, character, and visible chemistry on the court and the league’s teams that I played for,” said Moore when she headlined Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. It saw her and Seimone Augustus together giving a speech in the induction ceremony. “We like to win and win a lot,” added Augustus in the same event as she humorously boasted their legacy at Lynx.

Both of these players were instrumental in leading the team to four WNBA championships, cementing their legacy as one of the league’s most dominant duos. “These two, they deserve the place that they’ll take in the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame. They are two of Minnesota’s all-time greats, regardless of sport or gender,” stated Cheryl Reeves in an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune, who was largely behind developing the team to be what it is today, after joining in 2010. 

Together, the duo also guided Team USA to Olympic gold in both 2012 and 2016. Unfortunately, they couldn’t finish their careers together as Augustus played her last season at Los Angeles Sparks before announcing retirement in 2021. While Moore stepped back from WNBA back in 2019 itself, she made her retirement official last year.

No.23 and No.33 now stand together at Target Center.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.