Few players have shaped the game like Candace Parker. Sky coach Tyler Marsh called her a “basketball savant.” Aces coach Becky Hammon — a league legend, Parker’s former coach and Marsh’s mentor — said she changed the game, showing that versatility was an advantage, not a flaw.
On Monday night, the Sky honored Parker by raising her No. 3 to the rafters. After 13 seasons with the Sparks, she came home to Chicago and delivered the Sky’s first championship in 2021. The ceremony came during a loss to the red-hot Aces, but the night belonged to Parker, whose career defies quick summary.
Her resume includes two MVPs, two Olympic gold medals and multiple NCAA titles. She was also the first girl in Illinois to dunk in a high school game.
Some are still catching up. Parker’s 3-year-old son recently discovered, with some surprise, that his mom once played in the WNBA. Her wife was still pregnant with him when Parker helped bring the Sky their first title in franchise history — and the city’s first championship since the 2016 Cubs.
A new chapter
So what comes after a career like that?
“It’s really scary when you’re transitioning and putting the ball down,” Parker said before the game, her second jersey retirement of the season. The Sparks, who she also led to a championship, retired her number earlier this year.
Her love for the sport still fuels her even in “retirement.” She’s now president of Adidas Women’s Basketball and a lead broadcaster in the women’s game. She brings the same pragmatism to those roles that defined her career on the court.
Even reflecting on the 2021 title run, Parker stayed blunt.
“Everybody remembers the banner, but like, we were .500,” she said with a laugh, recalling the Sky’s 16-16 record that season. “We were bad. Let’s just be honest. It took some single-elimination games for us to win the championship.”
The playoff format has since shifted. The early rounds are now best-of-three rather than single elimination, and the Finals expanded this year from five games to seven.
Looking in the mirror
That willingness to self-reflect, even when it’s uncomfortable, sets Parker apart. She leaned into it in her recent book, The Can-Do Mindset, often turning the lens inward to examine mistakes and perspective.
So where did she learn the skill?
“I’ve had some amazing examples,” she said. “One of the best was Coach [Pat] Summitt. She was the most humble — look in the mirror, figure out what she could do better before pointing the finger.”
Summitt instilled in her that real leadership starts with asking what you can change yourself. It’s a lesson Parker carried throughout her career and now passes on in her roles off the court.
Remembering the Candace Era
For Sky fans, reflection on the Parker years shows that while the 2021 team hung the banner, the 2022 roster may have been the best. With Emma Meesseman added to a core of Parker, Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, the Sky set a franchise record for wins before falling in the semifinals.
That core eventually split. Then-head coach James Wade left midseason in 2023 for a job with the Raptors, and two head coaches later the Sky’s rebuild hasn’t quite taken off. Monday’s loss to the Aces dropped them to 9-28, already out of the playoff picture.
Still, Parker’s influence lingers in the new era. Marsh credited her with guiding him through the decision to accept Chicago’s head coaching job. If he becomes the coach the Sky hope for — and the one Hammon believes he is — that too will trace back to Parker. Though wins have been scarce, Marsh’s ability to harness Angel Reese’s playmaking may be the foundation to build on.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
