Moore Adds Another All-Star MVP Award To Her Collection


MINNEAPOLIS – Before you read this, open up a new browser window and do a Google Image search for “Maya Moore Trophy” then come back and we’ll continue.

Welcome back. Now that you have seen the pages upon pages of photos of Maya Moore holding up countless trophies from her storied basketball career, realize that she’s still adding to her impressive collection.

It’s a collection so vast that she was repeatedly asked whether or not she had enough room to store all of the awards she has won while becoming a living legend in the game.

“Thank you for your concern for my storage space,” she deadpanned to a room of reporters after winning her third consecutive WNBA All-Star Most Valuable Player honor on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s crazy. It really is. To just be fortunate enough to be in positions to continue to win, to be playing well, to be healthy, to be here, and obviously to do it here in front of our home fans, friends, family is so special and makes it even more special. But I will get back to you with the storage space answer.”

Moore scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists to help Team Parker earn a 119-112 win over Team Delle Donne in the first year of the WNBA’s new All-Star format.

New format, same result. Maya’s team wins. Maya wins MVP.

https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1023337915592654850

Moore became just the second player – joining Lisa Leslie – to be named MVP of the All-Star Game three times and the first player to do so in three consecutive All-Star Games.

“It’s one of those things you keep showing up,” Moore said. “Keep doing what you do, doing what you love to do, and fortunately we win the game because you can’t get MVP if you don’t win the game. It’s been amazing.”

After winning her first All-Star MVP in 2015 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut and winning her second in 2017 at KeyArena in Seattle, her third came at home, as the Target Center in Minneapolis hosted the All-Star Game for the first time.

The 15,922 fans in attendance erupted in cheers when Maya’s name was announced as the Most Valuable Player. Moore faced some strong competition for the award this time around as teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and opponent Kristi Toliver nearly stole the award away by leading a late rally for Team Delle Donne with a game-high 23 points and an All-Star record-tying seven 3-pointers.

Moore scored five of Team Parker’s final nine points in the closing minutes of the contest to help secure the win. In the process, she also passed a pair of legends in Leslie and Tamika Catchings to become the all-time leading scorer in WNBA All-Star history. Moore entered Saturday’s contest with 101 career All-Star points, trailing Leslie by one and Catchings by seven. With 18 points on the night, Moore now has the mark that all others will have to chase. It’s 119 for now, but considering Moore is only in her eighth season, she’ll have plenty of chances to keep adding to it.

The next opportunity will come in Las Vegas, which was announced as the host city for the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game before Saturday’s game. Should Moore add another MVP, she would own the all-time record to herself and add yet another trophy to her stuffed storage case.

But it may not be as special as the one she earned Saturday in front of the Minnesota fans that have seen her grow from a rookie to a veteran over the past eight years.

“This is really, really cool just because we’re at home,” Moore said. “The first thing I did, I looked at the trophy and realized this is ours, the one in Minnesota.”

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