Maya Moore Takes London

10 reasons why the Lynx star will make Olympic gold a slam dunk

1. She wins—constantly. At UConn, the Atlanta native won 150 games and lost only 4. Last year, her first season with the Minnesota Lynx, she won the WNBA championship (and Rookie of the Year honors) and then, in the off-season, won the Euroleague with a Spanish team. She’s a walking, dunking Vince Lombardi quote.

2. Team USA doesn’t lose. While the U.S. men’s basketball team has faltered at the Olympics, the women haven’t lost a game since 1992, when Moore was still in diapers.

3. She’ll have her girls with her. Though Moore is in the spotlight, two of her Lynx teammates are also London-bound: Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen.

4. She doesn’t trash talk. “I don’t need to,” she says. “I talk with my game.”

5. She has special shoes. Moore is the first woman to represent Nike’s Jordan brand. Too bad these bangin’ kicks don’t come in her favorite color: purple. “The color of royalty,” she says, “and Prince.”

6. She has God on her side. Moore listens to sermons online from World Changers, the mega-church in Atlanta that she attended as a child (parishioners called her Maya the Bee).

7. The coach is a friend. Geno Auriemma, Moore’s coach at UConn, leads the U.S. women this year. Remember: 150-4.

8. She wears a fedora. “I’m a professional, I’m going to buy a fedora,” she says by way of explanation. None needed.

9. She really can’t lose. During the first Team USA scrimmages, Moore played two games for one side then two for the other. She won all four games.

10. She’s still improving. Good as Moore is, her average of 13.2 points per game is below expectations. As she settles into her game, look out. Not that she won’t relax in London, too. “Fish and chips,” she says. “Bring it on.”

Olympic women’s basketball begins July 28.

Watch videos of Maya, on and off the court, at MNMO.com/MayaMoore