Candace Parker announced Sunday she’s retiring from the WNBA after 16 seasons.
Two-time WNBA Finals MVP Candace Parker announced her retirement on social media Sunday.
Per a posting on Instagram, Parker wrote: “I’m retiring. I promised I’d never cheat the game and 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. My HEART and body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”
“I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living and DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped. I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers and fans who made this journey so special.”
Parker’s career: Selected No. 1 overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft, Parker dominated the league in her 16-year career. The seven-time All-Star won three championships with three different teams (Los Angeles Sparks in 2016, Chicago Sky in 2021 and Las Vegas Aces in 2023), making her the first WNBA player to do so in history.
She was named WNBA Finals MVP twice (2008 and 2013), and won WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. Parker is the only player in league history to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season (2008).
Parker played for the late Pat Summitt’s last two national championship teams at Tennessee in 2007 and 2008.
She won gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
The current NBA TV & TNT analyst says she will continue to stay close to the game, focusing on broadcasting in both the WNBA and NBA.
“This is the beginning … I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball [and] dominoes with the same intensity & focus I did basketball.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
