Former Chicago Sky center Sylvia Fowles was selected to be a part of the the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the WNBA announced in a Saturday tweet.
Fowles, an 8-time All-WNBA selection and 2-time champion, was named a finalist for the Hall of Fame in February. She will join two league legends in Sue Bird and Maya Moore, who share 19 All-Star and 15 All-WNBA selections between them. Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who won two national championships with former Bulls center Joakim Noah at Florida, was selected as part of the North American Committee.
Fowles suited up for the Sky for seven seasons after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. The former LSU big is Chicago's All-Time rebounding leader with just over 1,830. Fowles helped guide the Sky to their 1st-ever WNBA Finals appearance in 2014, where they faced off against a star-studded lineup headlined by Diana Taurasi. She would go on to win two WNBA titles with Moore and the Minnesota Lynx, which further cemented the legacy of one of the league's most renowned coaches, Cheryl Reeve.
Fowles's ultimate achievement highlighted a number of former Sky players who earned career milestones of their own this offseason.
Candace Parker, who led Chicago to its first WNBA championship in 2021, will have her jersey retired by the Los Angeles Sparks on June 29. Parker was taken one pick over Fowles in the 2008 draft following two National Championships with Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Volunteers. The two faced off in the 2016 WNBA Finals, where the Sparks would ultimately prevail with a game-winning layup from now-Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike.
Elena Delle Donne, Fowles's former teammate and a 2-time MVP, announced her retirement from the league on Friday. She made her case for a Hall-of-Fame spot of her own between her stints with the Sky and the Washington Mystics, where she won a chip of her own alongside a new Chicago guard in Ariel Atkins. Delle Donne spent four seasons with the Sky and two with Fowles following an illustrious 4-year career with Delaware. She will be a special advisor to Monumental Basketball, which owns a number of professional teams and stadiums in the D.C. area, according to a Friday release.