Iconic three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker has announced her retirement after 16 seasons.
The 38-year-old shared the news in a lengthy Instagram post on Sunday, which included a touching post of a young Parker holding a basketball, a testament to what she’d become.
“Dear Summer, I know you gon miss me,” she began the caption, quoting a line from Jay-Z & Memphis Bleek’s “Dear Summer.”
“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 two-time Olympic gold medalist shared.
Back in November, Parker hinted at not pushing herself beyond her boundaries after a foot injury saw her benched last season. While she did share that she wanted to play another season, Parker said she would only do so if her foot was in better shape. It seems that a July 2023 surgery did not completely heal the injury, and it was this month that Parker played her final game.
Parker spent her first 13 seasons in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks, securing her first championship with this team, before securing a second with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and a third with the Las Vegas Aces last season, becoming the only WNBA in history to win a title with three separate teams. The Aces issued a statement after Parker’s retirement news spread, thanking the mother of two for her contributions to basketball.
Now, it appears Parker will turn her attention to her family and continuing her broadcast career.
A statement from the Las Vegas Aces. pic.twitter.com/2kzuj1ZCFA
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) April 28, 2024
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