Candace Parker: Five things you need to know about the 2x Olympic champ and WNBA superstar
Parker is one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball, here are five things about her you have to know.
Basketball
Double Olympic champion, WNBA champion, two-time WNBA MVP, five-time All-Star, two-time NCAA champion. Basketball icon Candace Parker doesn't need to say a word.
A serial winner with a glittering career in the bank, Parker is making history in her hometown by helping the Chicago Sky to a stunning WNBA finals show just a couple of months after helping the United States to a seventh straight Olympic women's title at Tokyo 2020.
The whole of Chicago is behind them with Scottie Pippen and Chance The Rapper showing up at Game 3, now Parker could help the Sky to a first ever WNBA championship in a dream first season.
Here are five things about her that every self-respecting basketball fan simply has to know.
1. In high school they compared Candace Parker to LeBron James
Parker was a prodigy in high school, at 15 her dunk with Naperville Central High School is considered to be the first dunk by a female athlete in Illinois.
She led the Naperville basketball team to two Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004, breaking all kinds of scoring records and is still the only two-time award winner of the USA Today High School Player of the Year.
Parker also became the first three-time winner of the Ms. Basketball of Illinois award in 2004.
“Parker often has been compared to LeBron James," the Chicago Tribune wrote in 2003, "the phenomenal 6-foot-8 prep standout from Akron, Ohio, who was the Naismith boys winner and is expected to be the No.1 selection in this year’s NBA Draft."
The girl who was born in 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri was also a first pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft on April 9, 2008.
The Los Angeles Sparks took her to L.A. to play alongside Olympic teammates Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones.
2. Why Candace Parker wears Pat Summitt's perfume
From high school, Parker was picked up by the University of Tennessee and led them to two straight titles in 2007 and 2008 under the tutelage of legendary coach Pat Summitt.
When the letter arrived from Tennessee, Parker danced around the house and showed the letter to her parents only to realise it was an offer for the volleyball team.
“I saw the Tennessee Lady Vol(unteers) symbol and I was like, ‘Yes, Pat Summitt, she finally recognized me,’ ” Parker said in an interview with NBA 2KTV.
Later the basketball letter did come through though, and Parker was on her way to learn under Summit where her game really took shape. The impact Summit had on Parker's career is profound, and she speaks on it often.
Summitt passed away in 2016 but Parker keeps her memory close, before every single game she sprays the perfume that Pat used to wear on her to help her remember how much it means, writing 'For Pat' inside her shoe during the 2021 playoffs.
"It's called 'Angel,'" Parker told ESPN. "And it's so crazy how when I run into somebody that knew her, they smell me and they're like, 'Ohhhh.' Because she always wore that perfume."
3. Even Candace Parker's dog plays tough D
Basketball brilliance runs in the Parker family: Dad Larry played with the Iowa Hawkeyes and her older brother Anthony played nine seasons in the NBA.
Even her dog plays better defence than 99 percent of the rest of us and proved it during the COVID shutdown when Candace stayed sharp by taking on Nahla.
"Nahla is going for the DPOTYD (Defensive Player of the Year Dog)," she posted.
4. How Kevin Durant, Dwayne Wade, and Vanessa Bryant helped Candace Parker make the decision to return to Chicago
When Parker returned to Chicago it was big news.
Later she revealed who helped guide her away from a settled life in L.A. to a new and exciting challenge back to the city of Chicago that she calls home.
Fellow Tokyo 2020 Team USA gold medallist Kevin Durant told her: "Follow your heart. People love you if you win, and if they don't love you, who cares? You made your decision."
Beijing 2008 men's gold medallist Dwyane Wayde also counselled Parker, warning her of the pitfalls of a return after his own Chicago comeback didn't go to plan.
Yet another confidante who's become a close friend is Vanessa Bryant. Bryant revealed that Kobe was close to a move to the Chicago Bulls once too but the freezing winters turned them off, as reported in ESPN.
"I reminded her our season is in the summer," Parker laughed, "And she was all for it."
For Chicago's returning hero, a WNBA ring in her first season back is the stuff of dreams.
5. Candace Parker: The future of basketball broadcasting
The D isn't the only place where Parker dominates and she has already made herself at home on the screens of millions of basketball fans across the USA and beyond.
Parker lines up alongside Olympic and NBA royalty Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, a heavyweight roster that totals four Olympic gold medals - Parker has half of those.
As a TV analyst Parker commentates on NBA TV, NBA on TNT and NCAA Tournament coverage, making her one of the most recognisable faces on U.S. TV.