Candace Parker, WNBA Three-Time Champion, Retires: ‘No Parade Or Tour’
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 07:51PM By Barry Janoff
Photo: WNBAUPDATED May 8, 2024: Recently retired WNBA star Candace Parker has been named president of women’s basketball at adidas.
Adidas said Parker would “collaborate with the brand to create a powerful platform aimed at influencing and elevating the future of women’s sports.” She will also oversee adidas Women’s Basketball product lines.
“Stepping into this new leadership role is a deeply personal next step in my journey with Adidas,” Parker said via adidas. “It’s not just about products; it’s about fostering a movement focused on innovation, representation, and access.”
“As a true innovator with a profound passion for the game, we are confident that she is a perfect fit to evolve the Adidas women’s basketball business and catalyze a new era of growth and credibility for the brand,” Eric Wise, global general manager of adidas Basketball, said via the brand.
Adidas’ women’s hoop roster includes Aliyah Boston, Hailey Van Lith, Kahleah Copper, Aaliyah Edwards, Chelsea Gray, Betnijah Laney, Alysha Clark, Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler.
April 28, 2024: Saying that she wants “no parade or tour,” WNBA all-time great Candace Parker today said she is retiring after a career that included three WNBA championships (Los Angeles Sparks 2016, Chicago Sky 2021, Las Vegas Aces 2023), two WNBA MVPs (2008, also named Rookie of the Year; 2013) and seven All-Star Games.
“Dear Summer: I know you gon miss me . . .” she posted to her Instagram platform.
“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.”
The news comes as the WNBA is preparing for its 2024 season, scheduled to begin May 14.
She said she has had ten surgeries during her career.
"It's no fun playing in pain, it's no fun knowing what you could do, if only...it's no fun hearing 'she isn't the same' when I know why, it's no fun accepting the fact you need surgery AGAIN.
“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.”
Parker and her wife, Anya Petrakova Parker, have a son, Airr, born in February 2022. She also has a teenage daughter, Lailaa, from her previous marriage.
This past December, Parker said she and Petrakova were expecting another child.
Parker, 38, who has been a NBA analyst for TNT and NBA TV since 2018, won two NCAA titles at Tennessee before being drafted No. 1 overall in 2008 by the Sparks. She also is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012).
She played for the Sparks from 2008-2020, the Sky in 2021-22 and the Aces in 2023 in a season cut short by surgery for a foot fracture. She is a member of both the WNBA 20th Anniversary Team (2016) and 25th Anniversary Team (2021).
"I'm grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped," Parker wrote. "I'm grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers & fans who made this journey so special.
"My mission in life, like Pat Summitt (her head coach at Tennessee) always said, is to 'chase people and passions and you will never fail,'" Parker posted. "Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I've learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!
"Today's players: ENJOY IT. No matter how you prepare for it, you won't be ready for the gap it leaves in your soul. Forgive me as I mourn a bit, but I'll be back loving the game differently in a while.”
What’s next?
Photo: Las Vegas Aces“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.”
Parker is part of the ownership group for the NWSL Los Angeles-based Angel City FC.
She ends her WNBA career with 6,574 regular season points (currently ninth in league history), 3,467 rebounds (third overall) and 1,634 assists (seventh in WNBA history).
"There's only one Candace Parker. One of one,” offered Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
The Aces posted a commemorative three-minute video on YouTube, “Thank-You, Candace.”
The Aces also posted to their Web site, “The dunks. The dimes. The boards. The blocks. The smile. The swagger.
“The memories Candace Parker created for a generation of women's basketball fans will remain ingrained in our collective conscience forever, but she has given so much more to the game beyond her accolades and statistics.
“As a teammate and mentor, a mother and wife, a baller, broadcaster, and businesswoman, she has inspired countless young people, both boys and girls, to chase and achieve their dreams.
“Thanks for the memories, Candace.”
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