Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles (born October 6, 1985) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Portland Fire of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times (2011, 2013, 2016, 2021). She led the Lynx to win the WNBA Championship in 2015 and 2017, and she was named the MVP of the WNBA Finals both times. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the WNBA's career leader in rebounds. In 2025, Fowles was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Hall of Fame.
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Early life
Fowles was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Arrittio Fowles. She has three brothers, Walter, Jeremy, Morris, and one sister, Dorothy. Fowles grew up in some of the rougher neighborhoods of Miami-Dade, including Coconut Grove, Little Haiti, and the Victory Home Housing Projects. She attended Little River Elementary School, Horace Mann Middle School, Miami Edison Senior High School and graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School.
She also led Edison Senior High School to two state championships before transferring to Gulliver Preparatory School. Fowles averaged 20.6 points and 11.6 rebounds at Gulliver and led them to the class 3A state championship against East Gadsden High School. Fowles was also named a McDonald's All-American. Fowles was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored fifteen points, and earned MVP honors.
College career
Fowles played in all 36 of LSU's games as a freshman, helping the team to an appearance in the NCAA Final Four. As a sophomore, she started all 35 games and again helped the team reach the Final Four. In her junior year, she led LSU to the Final Four again and earned All-American honours.
Fowles was named to the pre-season All-American team prior to her senior season. She dunked the ball in the Lady Tigers' game against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on November 21, 2007, becoming the sixth woman to dunk in an American college game.
In December 2007, Fowles suffered a partial tear of the meniscus of her right knee during a game against the University of Miami. She then underwent surgery and missed several weeks of play.
Fowles was named the 2008 SEC Player of the Year. During a March 24, 2008 NCAA Tournament game, she broke the all-time SEC record for career rebounds. She led LSU to the Final Four again in her senior year.
Fowles finished additional academic credits after beginning her professional basketball career and received her bachelor's degree from LSU in the spring of 2009.
During her college career at LSU, Fowles had also played with future WNBA teammate Seimone Augustus. On May 15, 2017, it was announced that Fowles' uniform number (34) will be retired by LSU during the 2017–18 season. She is the second women's basketball player in school history to receive that honor.
Professional career
WNBA
Fowles was selected 2nd overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2008 WNBA draft. After being drafted second overall, Fowles entered the Sky's rotation in the starting lineup and averaged 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks per game in her rookie season. However, her rookie season was shortened due to a knee injury as she played only 17 games with 14 starts.
After establishing herself as a solid inside scorer, tenacious rebounder and elite rim protector in her rookie season, Fowles would earn her first career WNBA all-star selection in 2009. She averaged 11.3 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game. However, injuries would once again shorten her season as she missed 10 games.
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.
During the 2010 season, Fowles scored a career-high 35 points in a 97–96 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. She had also led the league in blocks with a career-high average of 2.6 blocks per game. For her shot blocking efforts, she would be named to WNBA All-Defensive First Team.
In the 2011 season, Fowles was voted as a WNBA all-star for the second time in her career. She had averaged a double-double in points and rebounds for the whole season with a career-high 20 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game, she also led the league in blocks for the second year in the row, averaging 2.0 blocks per game. She would win WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2012, Fowles re-signed with the Sky to a multi-year deal once her rookie contract expired.
In the 2014 season, Fowles averaged a double-double in points and rebounds for the fourth consecutive season, which would help the Sky make the playoffs. Fowles eventually would earn her first career Finals appearance as the Sky had advanced all the way to the WNBA Finals despite a 15–19 record and the number four seed in the Eastern Conference. The Sky faced the 29–5 Phoenix Mercury and were defeated in a 3-game sweep. It would be Fowles's final season playing with the Sky.
Overseas
Fowles played for Spartak Moscow in Russia during the 2008–09 and 2009-10 WNBA off-seasons.
Fowles played for Galatasaray Medical Park of Turkey for three off-seasons from 2010 to 2013. In the 2013–14 and 2014-15 WNBA off-seasons, Fowles played in China for the Shanghai Swordfish. Fowles had spent the second portion of the 2014-15 WNBA off-season in Turkey playing for Canik Belediyesi. In the 2015-16 WNBA off-season, Fowles played once again in China for the Beijing Great Wall, leading the team to a championship As of August 2016, Fowles re-signed with Beijing for the 2016-17 off-season. Fowles would lead Beijing to its second consecutive championship of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association in 2017. In 2017, Fowles would once again re-sign with Beijing for the 2017-18 off-season.
National team career
Fowles was a member of the team representing the US at the 2005 World University Games Team in Izmir, Turkey. In the game against China, she led her team in scoring with 23 points. In the semi-final against Russia, she led the team with 25 points, helping the team win 118–67. Fowles averaged 15.0 points per game, and 7.3 rebounds, both team highs, and helped the team to a 7–0 record, resulting in a gold medal at the event.
Fowles is a member of the United States women's national basketball team and she earned a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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.
Fowles was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball. This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010.
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. They held all opponents to no more than 75 points, while scoring in triple digits four times. The win against Australia by eight points was the only game with a single digit margin of victory. Fowles averaged 8.9 points per game over the course of the tournament.
Fowles was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball players, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women's National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which would represent the US at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where the USA victory brought Fowles her second Olympic gold medal.
Coaching career
On December 22, 2025, Fowles was announced as an Assistant Coach of the Portland Fire.
Personal life
In 2015, Fowles enrolled in a mortuary science program at the American Academy McAllister Institute, where she has online studies in embalming, cremation, and funeral directing. In 2025, she began working on completing her remaining credits and then taking her board exams. She plans to open her own funeral home somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Interested in the field since the death of her grandmother when she was a child, and holding funerals for her stuffed animals, she wants to present the deceased in an attractive way so that loved ones can say goodbye. Her hobby has been knitting since she was 6. She also loves bicycling. She gave some of her 2017 MVP bonus to a Saint Paul nonprofit to provide bikes for girls and also led a local bike ride. She also led local bike rides in connection with her final WNBA season, and the Lynx gave fans a commemorative bike license plate at her final regular season home game.
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 have epilepsy.
Career statistics
College
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