CP3 retires after 16 seasons

On Sunday, Candace Parker announced her retirement from professional basketball after 16 years. On Instagram, she wrote:

I’m retiring.

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.

I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love. What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her.

In 2008, Parker arrived in the WNBA with loads of expectations. The No. 1 pick in the draft by the Los Angeles Sparks after winning two national titles at Tennessee, she was the avatar of the next generation of women’s basketball, possessing a sport-shaking combination of athleticism, length, skill, savvy and smarts. She was a 6-foot-4 point forward with the ability to swat a shot, corral the ball, run the break and yes…dunk. As a rookie, she accomplished a feat likely never to be replicated in WNBA history, winning both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. From there, her ascent into the rarest air of basketball iconicity was not as smooth or seamless as imagined—but she still got there.

She missed the beginning of the 2009 season after giving birth to her daughter, Lailaa. Her 2010 and 2011 seasons then would be marred by injuries. By 2013, however, she was back at the top of her game, winning her second MVP award. In 2016, she finally captured that elusive WNBA championship, leading the Sparks to trophy mere months after Pat Summitt, her beloved college coach, lost her battle with Alzheimer’s disease. While Parker would not experience a storybook ending in LA, she emerged as a hometown hero in Chicago, signing with the Sky in 2021 and delivering the organization its first title that same season. In her final season, she suited up for the Las Vegas Aces, when, although sidelined by a foot injury, she closed out her career with a third title.

One of the sport’s GOATs, Parker can be confident that she did “leave [the game] in a better place than I came into it.”

Fortunately for us, Parker is not going anywhere. She emphasized:

In the mean time, know IM A BUSINESS, man, not a businessman. This is the beginning…I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball, dominoes (sorry babe it’s going to get more real) with the same intensity & focus I did basketball.

She further noted:

My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to “chase people and passions and you will never fail.” Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I’ve learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!

Congratulations Candace!