Sylvia Fowles is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Fowles joined the Lynx in July 2015 and was the MVP of the 2015 WNBA Finals, was named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in 2016, and won the 2017 WNBA MVP Award.

Fowles was selected 2nd overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Fowles dunked on her second attempt during the 2009 WNBA All Star Game while representing the Eastern Conference after everyone on both teams cleared out of her way. Her first attempt clanged off the bottom of the rim. The game took place on July 25, 2009 at Mohegan Sun, the home of the Connecticut Sun. She is the third WNBA player to dunk in an all star game, following Michelle Snow in 2006 and Lisa Leslie in 2005.

Fowles is a member of the United States women's national basketball team and she earned a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She went on to earn her second and third gold medals at the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Fowles was again invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team traveled to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they competed in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.

In 2010, Fowles was named to the national team which competed in the World Championships in Ostrava, and Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The team won all nine games to win the gold medal.

Fowles founded the Sylvia Fowles Family Fund in 2010 to help needy children. She is a spokesperson for the Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) and has two nephews who suffer from epilepsy.

Basketball, Sports, Athlete, College, Olympic Sports, Award-Winning Athlete, Black Heritage, African-American Women, Sports Speakers, Women, WNBA