Candace Parker already had a date for her LA Sparks Jersey retirement, as that was announced in March, and on Wednesday, her hometown Chicago Sky announced that they will be retiring Parker’s jersey on August 25. The legend has her LA jersey retirement against the Sky on June 29th, and now the Sky return the favor. This is a historic moment for the WNBA legend. Here’s her Chicago Sky career in retrospect, in a few words, as I can only sum it up in detail.
Candace Parker for the Sky
Parker only had two seasons with the Sky, but she made a major impact on her hometown franchise by helping bring the franchise its only championship in the franchise’s history. In the two seasons for the Sky, Parker averaged 13.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 45.8% shooting from the field. This is a great moment for not only her as a player but the franchise as a whole, as the 2022 First-Team selection is getting her jersey raised into the rafters in Illinois as one of the Illinois basketball pioneers in the 2000s.
“Candace Parker is a legend, future hall-of-famer, and synonymous with Illinois basketball. We’re thrilled she decided to come home to Chicago to help the Sky win a championship in 2021,” Sky CEO and President Adam Fox said. Fox’s statement perfectly reflects my last point that she will go down as one of the Illinois pillars of the game of basketball, alongside Derrick Rose, Dwayne Wade, etc.
Final Thoughts
Parker is one of those legends in the WNBA who should be widely respected across the league now, especially with new fans coming into the league with the emergence of Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, etc. New fans need to watch her highlights to understand the impact that she made on the game in the late 2000s and 2010s. For more WNBA Stories like this one, tune into Total Apex Sports throughout the rest of the WNBA season.
