When protecting the paint, WNBA’s newest Hall of Fame inductee, Sylvia Fowles was in a league of her own. Throughout her 15-year career, she blocked more shots than she can remember. But there’s one in particular that stands out compared to the rest.
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One of the biggest draws of Fowles as a player was her two-way ability. In her rookie season, she immediately made an impact on both ends of the court, averaging 10.5 points and 2.1 blocks per game. Those numbers only continued compound over the years. As a matter of fact, she ranks 4th on the all-time list of blocks in the league’s history.
The only players above her are Margo Dydek, Brittney Griner and Lisa Leslie. Her outstanding defensive ability certainly played a significant role in getting her name in the Hall of Fame.
During the course of her career that lasted 15 years, Fowles played against tremendous talents such as Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker and successfully so on multiple occasions. But those weren’t names that she enjoyed blocking the most. That honor belongs to someone she considered a sibling.
“I got a few on Arike [Ogunbowale]. You know, she’s like my little sister. So she talks a lot of trash. So anytime I have the opportunity to block her shot, I’m definitely trying to block it for sure,” Fowles said in an exclusive interview with The SportsRush’s Adit Pujari.
That said, Ogunbowale wasn’t Fowles’s best block. The Hall of Famer was happy to bestows that honor on Essence Carson.
“She took off to go make a layup. And we clearly were on the other side of the court. And I just took off at full speed. I didn’t have any intentions of blocking her shot. But eventually I ended up catching up to her. And by the time she laid the ball up, I smacked it off the backboard. I think that’s one of my favorite memories of like blocking a shot,” Fowles said.
The play which Fowles is referring to occurred early in their careers. At the time, Fowles was on the Chicago Sky and Carson was playing for the New York Liberty. It of course, still remains a vivid memory for Fowles due to how unbelievable of a play it was.
“I kind of surprised myself in that moment, too, because my intention wasn’t to block a shot. It was just, make the effort to get back. So she didn’t have it easy. But yeah, it felt really good,” Fowles admitted.
In hindsight, that specific shot from Carson is only one of 721 other shots that were victim to Fowles’ defensive monstrosities.
