Lynx Star Maya Moore Says She Won't Return for 2021 Season

Four-time WNBA champion Maya Moore said Wednesday that she will not be returning to the court for the upcoming season. 

Moore, 31, last played in the WNBA in 2018, staring for the Minnesota Lynx. The former league MVP announced in February 2019 that she would be taking time away from basketball to focus on family and "ministry dreams that have been stirring in my heart for many years." Throughout her hiatus, she subsequently focused on working for the release of Jonathan Irons from prison, a man who was serving a 50-year sentence on charges of burglary and assault for an incident that took place when he was 16 years old. 

After serving more than 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Irons was released from prison this past July. Earlier this week, Irons filed a civil lawsuit against the authorities who investigated his case.

Moore and Irons were married this past summer and the two intend to continue advocating for criminal justice reform. 

"This journey has been quite wild so I'm still trying to take that time to really get settled, you know we just got married," Moore said during an appearance on Good Morning America. "So I'm still planning on taking some rest and really just leaning in to this season of enjoying Jonathan and having this full year."

Despite playing just eight WNBA seasons, Moore remains among the most accomplished players in WNBA history. In addition to her four titles and league MVP, she earned six All-Star appearances and five All-WNBA first-team honors.

The Lynx have made the postseason in each of the two seasons in which Moore hasn't participated, but they have not advanced past the WNBA semifinals. 

The WNBA is yet to publicly release a date for the start of the 2021 season.