A love story for the ages: WNBA star Moore now married to the man she helped free from prison

What a unique love story.

Maya Moore has loved basketball for most of her life.

But that's only part of her love story.

The former Connecticut star, Olympic gold medalist and WNBA all-star with the Minnesota Lynx also revealed recently that she has a strong passion for justice, too.

But again ... only part of her love story.

Moore shocked the basketball world last year when she sat out the 2019 WNBA season to dedicate her time to seeking justice for a man she had become acquainted with during her high school years. Moore's family had initially met Jonathan Irons during a prison ministry. He had claimed that he was sent to prison when he was 18 years old for a wrongful conviction in a burglary and assault case.

Moore wanted to help, so she did what she could while she was playing, spending hours and hours researching court documents. She also helped put together a legal team that relentlessly challenged Irons' conviction.

Moore made that work her full-time mission in 2019, and she also took off the 2020 WNBA season to continue that work.

Those exhaustive efforts ultimately paid off.

After spending 23 years in prison, Irons was released in July when a judge overturned his conviction.

One of his longest hugs outside the prison doors on the day he was released was with Moore.

The two will share many embraces moving forward.

Somewhere between all the legal research and prison visits, another love blossomed for Moore. A love for Irons.

And here is the most compelling, and unexpected, part of Moore's love story.

On ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Moore, 31, and Irons, 40, announced that they were going to continue the work they were doing together for justice and wrongful imprisonment as a married couple.

They were married a couple of months ago in front of a small gathering of family and friends, shortly after Irons was released.

Wow. Talk about a love story for the ages.

"Over the last 13 years we have just developed a friendship and just entered into this huge battle to get him home and just over time it was pretty clear what the Lord was doing in our hearts," Moore told "Good Morning America." "And now we're sitting here today, starting a whole new chapter together."

It all reads like a Hollywood movie, which eventually it kind of will become.

The happy couple's early chapters, as well as their newest, will be chronicled in an upcoming documentary by ESPN Films, produced by Rock'n Robin Productions, a company led by Good Morning America host Robin Roberts.

"I am so hopeful that this intimate look at our journey for justice will inspire all to believe that change and justice are possible," Moore said. "The heart of this story is that when we see and value the people suffering around us we can start to become the community we know we were meant to be. I'm more convinced than ever that love and sacrifice will lead us to the win for humanity."

Disappointing finish: And so the "Bubble" has burst.

The Sky finished out its 2020 season on Tuesday in the "Wubble" in Bradenton, Fla., by suffering a single-elimination series, first-round playoff loss to Connecticut, 94-81.

The Sky was manhandled on the boards, losing that battle 40-21.

The loss puts an end to a fabulous season for Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot. She became the first player in WNBA history to average 10 assists per game after rolling up 220 assists in 22 games.

Twitter: @babcockmcgraw