Candace Parker, considered one of the best players in WNBA history, is retiring from professional basketball. Parker announced the news on Sunday via a post on Instagram.
Parker previously expressed doubts about her future in the WNBA after missing the second part of the 2023 season with a foot injury. She signed a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Aces for 2024 with hopes of playing her 17th season in the league but now decided it was time to walk away.
“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. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it,” she wrote on Instagram.
Candace Parker entered the league as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. She won the WNBA MVP honors and the Rookie of the Year award in her first season, becoming the only player in league history to achieve this feat.
Parker would go on to play 12 more seasons with the Sparks, during which she received another MVP nod in 2013 while helping the franchise to a WNBA title in 2016. She also had five All-Star appearances and won one WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
In 2021, Parker left Los Angeles and joined the Chicago Sky on a two-year deal. She won another WNBA championship with the franchise and made back-to-back All-Star appearances. After two seasons with the Sky, Parker joined the Aces for the 2023 campaign and ended up winning her third career championship.
