The Sparks will retire the No. 3 jersey worn by Candace Parker at halftime of Sunday\u2019s game against the Chicago Sky at Crypto.com Arena honoring their career assist leader who led them to their most recent WNBA championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see my jersey hanging in the rafters amongst other legends is truly an honor,\u201d Parker said in a statement released March 27 when the Sparks announced they would be retiring her jersey. \u201cThis moment is not just about me \u2014 it\u2019s about my family, my teammates and the incredible support from the LA Sparks organization and fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful to my parents, who believed in me every step of the way, to my brothers who still are my heroes and to my wife and kids, who inspire me every day. The Staples Center raised Lailaa and this was her playground growing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cHolding the record for assists reminds me that basketball is never just about individual success \u2014 it\u2019s about elevating others and being a part of something bigger than yourself. This jersey represents all the moments, all the connections and all the love that got me here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sparks described the ceremony as celebrating Parker\u2019s \u201cimpact on the franchise, the WNBA and the game of basketball.\u201d She will be joined by teammates, coaches, and special guests. A video montage will be shown, highlighting her greatest moments in her 13 seasons with the Sparks.<\/p>\n
The ceremony will also promote Parker\u2019s book, \u201cThe Can-Do Mindset: How to Cultivate Resilience, Follow Your Heart and Fight for Your Passions,\u201d which explains how she turned her childhood nickname, Can-Do, into a daily mantra that helped her overcome enormous physical and mental hurdles while embracing her vulnerability.<\/p>\n
Parker\u2019s jersey will be the third retired by the team that began play in 1997. The others are the No. 9 worn by Lisa Leslie and the No. 11 worn by Penny Toler.<\/p>\n
Parker is the franchise leader in assists with 1,331. She is second in rebounds (2,902), defensive rebounds (2,359) and free throws made (1,153); third in points (5,684), steals (446), field goals made (2,136), field goal percentage (.482) and three-point baskets (768); and fourth in games played (337) and offensive rebounds (543).<\/p>\n
The Sparks chose the 6-foot-4-inch power forward with the No. 1 selection in the 2008 draft after she led Tennessee to back-to-back NCAA championships and was selected as the tournament\u2019s Most Outstanding Player both times.<\/p>\n
Parker wasted no time in demonstrating she would continue her dominance as a professional, scoring 34 points in her debut, the WNBA record for scoring in a player\u2019s first game in the league. In her 12th game, she became the second WNBA player to dunk.<\/p>\n
Parker was selected as the 2008 MVP and rookie of the year as the Sparks improved from 10-24 to 20-14. She was also the 2013 MVP, 2016 Finals MVP, 2020 Defensive Player of the Year and five-time all-star selection.<\/p>\n
Parker was a member of the WNBA\u2019s 20th and 25th anniversary teams and 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic gold-medal winning teams.<\/p>\n
Parker missed the first eight games of the 2009 season after giving birth to her daughter Lailaa on May 13, 2009, returning to play July 5.<\/p>\n
Parker left the Sparks via free agency following the 2020 season, signing with Chicago Sky, who she helped to the 2021 WNBA championship. The Sky will retire her No. 3 jersey later this season, making her the second WNBA player to have a jersey retired by two teams. The other is Lindsay Whalen had her jersey retired by both the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx.<\/p>\n
Parker played her final season with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023, helping them to the WNBA championship.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old Parker will be a studio and game analyst for Prime Video\u2019s NBA coverage beginning this fall and lead the streaming service\u2019s expanded WNBA coverage starting next season. She had been a game and studio analyst for TNT\u2019s NBA coverage from 2018 until its contract ended earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin \u201cMagic\u201d Johnson, a Sparks co-owner, called Parker \u201cthe best all-around player that has ever played in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer legacy is immeasurable,\u201d Johnson said in a statement. \u201cShe redefined excellence, was a champion on the court and for the Los Angeles community and inspired countless fans and future generations of athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery few champions get to see their jersey hanging from the rafters in this city. Retiring Candace\u2019s No. 3 jersey is not just a celebration of her extraordinary career, but a tribute to the enduring mark she\u2019s left on this organization, the WNBA and the city of Los Angeles. She will forever be a part of the Sparks family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sparks will retire the No. 3 jersey worn by Candace Parker at halftime of Sunday\u2019s game against…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[21614,12356,21615,21616,4232,62,67,132,68,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-23933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-candace","9":"tag-jersey","10":"tag-parkers","11":"tag-retire","12":"tag-sparks","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114765496705265962","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}