Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles named 2017 WNBA Most Valuable Player

Since departing Chicago for Minnesota, Sylvia Fowles became even colder — under the basket, that is.

The result? An icy WNBA MVP award, just hours before taking the floor in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals against the Washington Mystics.

The dominant center has been downright frosty in the low-post and paint this season, helping the Lynx to No. 1 seeding entering the playoffs. Fowles, age 31, won her first WNBA Championship with the Lynx in 2015 and took home the 2015 WNBA Finals MVP trophy for good measure.

The beast under the basket, otherwise  known as “Big Syl,” is a three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2011, 2013, 2016 ) and three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2016).

Fowles played in all 34 regular season games — even after suffering a broken nose in May. She  averaged 18.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game during the regular season; she put up 18 points and claimed 7 rebounds in the Lynx’s Game 1 Semifinals victory over Washington.

The 6-foot-6, four-time All-Star claimed 35 of 40 first-place votes for MVP honors, leaving the Liberty’s Tina Charles and the Sparks’ Candace Parker somewhat in the dust.

The Lynx demolished the Mystics  in Game 1 of the Semifinals, with a 101-81 shellacking. But, as pros do, the Mystics will enter Game 2 regrouped and ready in hopes of offering the Lynx a little competition.

Only time will tell if Washington’s preparation will trump the boost given to the Lynx, courtesy of the Fowles’ MVP nod.