Sylvia Fowles Named July WNBA Cares Community Assist Award Recipient

The Women’s National Basketball Association on Friday morning named legendary Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles the recipient of the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award.

The award is presented each month during the season to the player who best reflects the league’s passion for its players to make a difference in each local community with a WNBA franchise.

Fowles, who just completed her 15th (and farewell) season in the WNBA, her eighth in Minnesota, has long been an advocate for activating youth in the Twin Cities through two of her biggest passions off the floor: cycling and gardening. While the Lynx were at home for extended stretches of this season, Fowles frequently put on community events in those two areas as part of the “Syl’s Final Ride” campaign in coordination with the Lynx.

The 2022 WNBA Kim Perrot Sponsorship Award winner partnered with Free Bikes 4 Kids MN and Slow Roll Twin Cities to both give away free bikes to children in need and host extended bike rides with youth in communities around the Greater Minneapolis area.

Throughout her final season, multiple franchises donates bikes to children in their local communities in honor of Fowles as a way of celebrating the greatest center of all-time in a fitting way.

Additionally, Fowles worked closely with Appetite For Change in North Minneapolis, where she took part in a beet planting event alongside Lynx teammates Natalie Achonwa, Rachel Banham and Kayla McBride.

Fowles is widely regarded as one of the most well-respected, kindest and most giving players in the WNBA and her work with children in the Twin Cities communities fully exemplifies that.

Even though the sun has set on her time playing in Minneapolis, there is no doubt that Sweet Syl will continue to impact the community off the floor through her lasting work activating for youth health and wellness.