On Sunday, Candace Parker announced her retirement from the WNBA after 16 of the most memorable seasons in the league’s history.
Breaking: Candace Parker announced she is retiring from basketball after 16 seasons in the WNBA
What a career from one of the BEST to ever do it 👏 @HighlightHER pic.twitter.com/ePz0wLCcRu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2024
A three-time WNBA champion, two-time league MVP, and seven-time All-Star, Parker has been one of the faces of women’s basketball since starring at Tennessee.
Candace Parker Retires After 16 Seasons
Selected first overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2008 WNBA Draft, Parker left the Volunteers as one the most successful and decorated players in NCAA history.
While being coached by the legendary Pat Summit, Parker led Tennessee to two NCAA championships in three seasons. Parker had a clean sweep of conference awards, winning 2006 SEC Rookie of the Year, 2007 SEC Player of the Year, and 2008 SEC Tournament MVP. A three-time AP All-American, two-time Wooden Award winner, Parker also won NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, USBWA Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, and the Naismith Award in 2008.
20th all-time in career points (2,137) and 12th all-time in career blocks (275) in the SEC, Parker has the 12th-highest scoring average (19.4), 16th-highest rebounding averages (8.8), and eighth-highest block average (2.5) in SEC history. While having the highest rebounding average in Tennessee women’s history, she ranks second in career points, blocks, and blocks per game. Notably, she’s also their career leader in free-throws (526), defensive win shares (16.9), offensive win shares (17.9), and player efficiency rating (40.0).
The Legend Continues
Parker was just as dominant at the next level and not just because she won MVP as a rookie.
Accolades aside, she was simply one of the most complete players in WNBA history but still an elite scorer. At 6-foot-4, Parker could take her opponents off the dribble or score out of the post. Her footwork inside, touch from all three levels, and pure scoring instincts allowed her to average at least 15 points per game in 10 of her first 11 seasons.
Factor in her basketball IQ, which lends itself to her two-way playmaking. The intensity that gave her the desire to takeover on the biggest stage. While players like Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark are rightly recognized for pushing women’s basketball forward, Parker helped set the stage for those future phenoms.
Later in her career, Parker took her foot off the pedal so far as scoring, choosing to play more of a complementary role with her all-around ability. However, she remained capable of bringing it offensively, averaging 12.5 points per game in her last five seasons. In that time, she won a championship with the Chicago Sky and another with the Las Vegas Aces.
Bidding adieu to such a magnificent player is always hard. Fortunately for basketball fans, Parker has taken to sports media, offering insights and analysis on TNT.
