WNBA great Candace Parker retiring after 16 seasons
TREVOR RUSZKOWSKI / USA TODAY SPORTS / 2003
Las Vegas Aces forward Candace Parker (3) looks to pass the ball while Indiana Fever center Queen Egbo (4) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Two-time WNBA MVP and three-time champion Candace Parker announced her retirement on Sunday.
The seven-time All-Star was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Parker won her third championship with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023, her 16th season in the league.
Parker, who turned 38 on April 19, also won titles with the Sparks (2016) and Chicago Sky (2021).
“I know you gon miss me … I’m retiring,” Parker began her post Sunday on Instagram.
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“I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time,” she wrote. “My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”
She was the Rookie of the Year and the league MVP in 2008 and added a second MVP award in 2013. Other accolades include All-Star Game MVP (2013), Finals MVP (2016) and Defensive Player of the Year (2020).
She averaged 16..0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks in 410 games (406 starts) with the Sparks (2008-20), Sky (2021-22) and Aces (2023).
Parker ranks third in WNBA history in rebounds (3,467), fifth in blocks (619), seventh in assists (1,634) and ninth in points (6,574).
Parker was a two-time NCAA champion and two-time Wooden Award winner at Tennessee. In 2006, she became the first woman ever to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game.
She won Olympic gold medals with Team USA at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.
