Candace Parker spent 13 seasons on the Sparks and two seasons with the Chicago Sky, winning a championship with each team.
73 Facts About Candace Parker
2.
In high school, Candace Parker won the 2003 and 2004 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year awards, becoming just the second junior and the only woman to receive the award twice.
3.
In 2016, Candace Parker led the Sparks to win their first WNBA Finals title since 2002 and won the WNBA Finals MVP Award.
4.
Candace Parker has won two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards, a WNBA All-Star Game MVP Award, two Olympic gold medals, and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award.
5.
Candace Parker has been selected to six All-WNBA teams and five All-Star teams, and was the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards in the same season.
6.
Candace Parker became the second player to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22,2008.
7.
Since 2018, Candace Parker has been an analyst and commentator for Turner Sports, providing coverage for NBA games on TNT and NBA TV and for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
8.
Candace Parker was born on April 19,1986, in St Louis, Missouri.
9.
Candace Parker has two older brothers, including former NBA basketball player Anthony Parker.
10.
Candace Parker's family loved basketball and she began playing at an early age.
11.
Candace Parker's father played basketball at the University of Iowa in the 1970s.
12.
Candace Parker was worried about playing basketball, fearing she would not live up to the level of play her father and brother demonstrated, so she focused on playing soccer.
13.
Candace Parker led her high school basketball team to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004, and compiled a school-record 2,768 points and 1,592 rebounds while starting 119 of the 121 games in which she played.
14.
Candace Parker is the only two-time award winner of the USA Today High School Player of the Year, winning the award in 2003 and 2004.
15.
Candace Parker won the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and Gatorade Female Basketball Player of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004.
16.
Candace Parker participated in the 2004 WCBA All-America Game where she scored nine points.
17.
Candace Parker was a consensus pick as player of the year in Illinois in 2002,2003, and 2004, and was a four-year member of the All-State first team.
18.
On December 27,2001, Candace Parker dunked for the first time in competition as a 15-year-old sophomore at Naperville Central High School.
19.
On March 29,2004, Candace Parker won the slam dunk contest at McDonald's All-American Game, becoming the first woman to win the event and beating the likes of Josh Smith and JR Smith.
20.
On November 11,2003, during her senior year, Candace Parker announced her commitment to Tennessee on ESPNEWS, becoming the first women's player to announce the oral commitment live on the network.
21.
Candace Parker wears the number 3 on her jersey to honor former NBA player Allen Iverson who encouraged her during her high school career.
22.
Candace Parker entered the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2004.
23.
Candace Parker was listed on the roster as a forward, center, and guard.
24.
Candace Parker was the SEC Rookie of the Year and helped the Lady Vols win the 2006 SEC tournament championship.
25.
Candace Parker was named tournament MVP and was named to the 2006 Kodak All-America team, making her one of the few to ever receive the award as a freshman.
26.
However, in the NCAA tournament regional finals against North Carolina, Candace Parker got in early foul trouble and was out of the game for much of the first half.
27.
Candace Parker was the only college player named to the USA squad for the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil.
28.
Candace Parker achieved the record in 56 games, beating Chamique Holdsclaw's mark of 57 games and Tamika Catchings's of 58 games.
29.
On March 1, at the SEC tournament in Duluth, Georgia, Candace Parker was named the 2007 SEC Player of the Year.
30.
Candace Parker finished the game with 17 points and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor.
31.
On February 21,2008, Candace Parker announced that she would forgo her final season of eligibility at Tennessee in order to focus on the 2008 Olympics and pursue a professional career in basketball.
32.
Candace Parker was named the Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive NCAA tournament, joining Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Diana Taurasi as the only female players to have done so.
33.
Candace Parker graduated with her incoming class in May 2008.
34.
Candace Parker was selected as the first pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks on April 9,2008, one day after winning the NCAA title.
35.
Candace Parker played alongside Olympic teammates Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones.
36.
Candace Parker was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month for the months of May and July 2008.
37.
Candace Parker was one of 11 people suspended in the Sparks-Shock brawl on July 21,2008.
38.
Candace Parker was selected to go, and the US team cruised with eight straight victories to win the gold medal.
39.
Candace Parker averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and scored 14 points in the final game.
40.
On October 3,2008, Candace Parker became the first WNBA player to win both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards in the same season, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld as the only professional American basketball players to win both ROY and MVP trophies in the same season.
41.
Candace Parker missed the first eight games of the 2009 WNBA season after giving birth to her daughter, Lailaa Nicole Williams.
42.
Candace Parker played her first game back from maternity leave on July 5,2009.
43.
Candace Parker was named to the All-WNBA second team and All-Defensive second team despite missing almost a full month, due to her maternity leave.
44.
Candace Parker had averaged a career-low in scoring but led the league in rebounding by the end of the season.
45.
Candace Parker helped the Sparks get to the Western Conference Finals, but lost in three games to the eventual champions, the Phoenix Mercury.
46.
In 2010, Candace Parker played only 10 games and was sidelined for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury, she would miss the playoffs.
47.
Candace Parker had been voted as an All-Star during the season, but the injury would cause her to miss the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game.
48.
In 2012, Candace Parker had re-signed with the Sparks to a multi-year deal once her rookie contract expired.
49.
Candace Parker was very emotional following the loss, hugging her mother Sara with tears.
50.
On July 27,2013, in her sixth season, Candace Parker played in her first All-Star game.
51.
Candace Parker scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a come from behind win for the West and was named WNBA All-Star MVP.
52.
On September 19, Candace Parker was named the 2013 WNBA Most Valuable Player.
53.
Candace Parker became the fifth player to earn multiple WNBA MVP awards, joining Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Lauren Jackson and Cynthia Cooper.
54.
Candace Parker averaged 19.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game in the regular season.
55.
In 2016, Candace Parker re-signed with the Sparks as an unrestricted free agent.
56.
That night, against the Dallas Wings, Candace Parker had an incredible performance in the second half, finishing the game with 31 points, and had her season high of rebounding with 13, guiding her team to a victory.
57.
In Game 5 of the series, Candace Parker had scored a game-high 28 points along with 12 rebounds.
58.
Also in 2016, Candace Parker was named in the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.
59.
In February 2017, Candace Parker signed a multi-year contract extension with the Sparks.
60.
On July 19,2018, Candace Parker was voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her fifth all-star nomination.
61.
Candace Parker led the league in rebounding and recorded a league-leading 10 double-double performances.
62.
Candace Parker was named Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in her career.
63.
Candace Parker chose to leave the Sparks after 13 seasons, signing a 2-year deal with the Chicago Sky.
64.
In February 2023, Candace Parker signed to the Las Vegas Aces.
65.
Candace Parker was the leading scorer for the team, averaging 16.6 points per game.
66.
Candace Parker was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009.
67.
Candace Parker played for Team USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
68.
Candace Parker played with teammate, Kristi Toliver in her final off-season with the team.
69.
In February 2017, Candace Parker signed a 2-month contract with Fenerbahce of the Turkish Super League.
70.
Candace Parker served as an analyst for the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game.
71.
On November 13,2008, Candace Parker married Shelden Williams, who played college basketball at Duke University and played in the NBA.
72.
On December 14,2021, Candace Parker announced that she had married Anna Petrakova in 2019 and that they were expecting a baby.
73.
Candace Parker previously had a St Bernard mix named Fendi, whom she appeared with in an anti-fur ad for PETA.