Background and career
Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986), nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team. Parker is credited with growing the popularity of women's basketball. In June 2026, she was inducted into the Women Basketball Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2026. A versatile player, Parker mainly played the forward and center positions. In high school, Parker won the 2003 and 2004 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year awards, becoming just the second junior and the only woman to receive a Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year award twice. Parker played college basketball for the Tennessee Lady Vols, she led the team to two consecutive national championships (2007, 2008), was named the Final Four's most outstanding player in both occasions and was a two-time consensus national player of the year. As a redshirt freshman, she became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first woman to dunk twice in a college game. After being selected in the WNBA Draft, Parker signed long-term endorsement deals with Adidas and Gatorade. In 2016, Parker led the Sparks to win their first WNBA Finals title since 2002 and won the WNBA Finals MVP Award. In 2021, she helped the Sky win their first title. She won her third title in 2023 with the Aces. Parker won two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2008, 2013), a WNBA All-Star Game MVP Award (2013), two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2008). She was selected to six All-WNBA teams and five All-Star teams, and was the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards in the same season. Parker became the second player to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22, 2008. Since 2018, Parker has been an analyst and commentator for TNT Sports, providing coverage for NBA games on TNT and NBA TV and for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Following her retirement in spring of 2024, Parker was named president of Adidas women's basketball.
Parker was born on April 19, 1986, in St. Louis, Missouri. She has two older brothers, including former NBA basketball player Anthony Parker. Parker moved with her family to Naperville, Illinois at the age of two, where she spent her childhood. Her family loved basketball and she began playing at age six. Her father Larry played basketball at Joliet West HS and the University of Iowa in the 1970s. The Parker family were also Chicago Bulls fans. Candace was worried about playing basketball, fearing she would not live up to the level of play her father and brother demonstrated, so she focused on playing soccer. It wasn't until the eighth grade that her family convinced her to play competitive basketball. Her father helped coach and critique her. Parker said of the experience, "He did things to make me mad, to challenge me, because I was so much more athletic and had so much more knowledge of the game than everyone else that sometimes I just coasted. If me and my dad went to a park and he didn't think I was practicing hard enough, he'd just get in the car and leave. And I'd have to run home. I mean run home. Once I figured that out, I'd always try to go to close-by parks."
Like her older brother Anthony Parker, she attended Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois. Parker led her high school basketball team to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004, and compiled a school-record 2,768 points (22.9 points per game) and 1,592 rebounds (13.2 rebounds per game) while starting 119 of the 121 games in which she played. She is the only two-time award winner of the USA Today High School Player of the Year, winning the award in 2003 and 2004. Parker also won the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and Gatorade Female Basketball Player of the Year Award in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, she was named Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, WBCA All-American and McDonald's All-American. She participated in the 2004 WCBA All-America Game where she scored nine points. She was also selected as the 'Ms. Basketball' player of the year in Illinois in 2002, 2003, and 2004, and was a four-year member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State first team. On December 27, 2001, Parker dunked for the first time in competition as a 15-year-old sophomore at Naperville Central High School. This is believed to be the first slam dunk by a female athlete in Illinois. On March 29, 2004, Parker won the slam dunk contest at McDonald's All-American Game, becoming the first woman to win the event and beating the likes of Josh Smith and J. R. Smith. On November 11, 2003, during her senior year, Parker announced her commitment to Tennessee on ESPNEWS, becoming the first women's player to announce the oral commitment live on the network. In August 2004, Parker led the undefeated USA Junior World Championship team to a gold medal with 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. While training, Parker had a relapse of knee pain and was required to undergo surgery both the lateral meniscus and the lateral articular cartilage in her left knee. She wears the number 3 on her jersey to honor former NBA player Allen Iverson who encouraged her during her high school career.
Parker entered the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2004. On February 17, 2005, Tennessee announced Parker would redshirt her first season due to a knee injury she had suffered in a summer league game. Parker started for the Tennessee Lady Vols during the 2005–06 season. She was listed on the roster as a forward, center, and guard. On March 19, 2006, in an NCAA tournament first-round game against Army, she became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, then became the first woman to dunk twice in an NCAA tournament game. She was the SEC Rookie of the Year (Coaches and AP) and helped the Lady Vols win the 2006 SEC tournament championship. With 17 seconds remaining in the SEC tournament championship game against LSU, Parker hit the game-winning shot. She was named tournament MVP and was named to the 2006 Kodak All-America team, making her one of the few to ever receive the award as a freshman. However, in the NCAA tournament regional finals against North Carolina, Parker got in early foul trouble and was out of the game for much of the first half. Tennessee ultimately lost the game. Parker was the only college player named to the USA squad for the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil. The USA squad finished in third place.
In a January 28, 2007, away game against Alabama, in her sophomore season, Parker became the fastest player in Lady Vols history to score 1,000 career points. She achieved the record in 56 games, beating Chamique Holdsclaw's mark of 57 games and Tamika Catchings's of 58 games. On March 1, at the SEC tournament in Duluth, Georgia, Parker was named the 2007 SEC Player of the Year. On April 3, she led the Lady Vols to their first national championship since 1998, beating Rutgers 59–46. Parker finished the game with 17 points and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor. On February 21, 2008, Parker announced that she would forgo her final season of eligibility at Tennessee in order to focus on the 2008 Olympics and pursue a professional career in basketball. On April 8, 2008, despite having suffered a dislocated shoulder in the regional final, Parker led the Lady Vols to their second straight NCAA women's title, the eighth championship for Tennessee and the last for legendary coach Pat Summitt. She was also named the Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive NCAA tournament, joining Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Diana Taurasi as the only female players to have done so. She graduated with her incoming class in May 2008. A sports management major who had a 3.35 grade-point average as of December 2007, she was named University Division I Academic All-American of the Year in women's basketball for 2008 by the College Sports Information Directors of America. While at Tennessee, she compiled a record of 100 wins and 10 losses and averaged 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game. In October 2025, the Associated Press selected Parker as one of the greatest collegiate players in the women's poll era alongside Caitlin Clark, Cheryl Miller, Diana Taurasi, and Breanna Stewart as the starting five players.
Parker was selected as the first pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks on April 9, 2008, one day after winning the NCAA title. She played alongside Olympic teammates Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones. Shannon Bobbitt, Parker's teammate at Tennessee, joined the Sparks after being drafted in the second round. On May 17, 2008, in her debut game against the Phoenix Mercury, she had 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. Her 34 points broke the record for a rookie in a debut game, previously held by Cynthia Cooper with 25 points in her debut game in 1997. It is a record that still stands as of 2025. On May 29, 2008, Parker posted a 16 points, 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists, and 5 steals, becoming the only woman in WNBA history to post a 5x5 stat line. On June 22, 2008, she became the second woman in WNBA history—after her teammate Lisa Leslie—to dunk during a regulation WNBA game, against the Indiana Fever. The dunk was on the same basket as Lisa Leslie's. On June 24, 2008, she became the first player to dunk twice in their WNBA career, during a regulation game against the Seattle Storm. Parker was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month for the months of May and July 2008. On July 9, 2008, Parker scored a career-high 40 points, along with 16 rebounds and 6 assists, in an 82–74 overtime win against the Houston Comets. Parker was one of 11 people suspended in the Sparks-Shock brawl on July 21, 2008. In July and August 2008, the WNBA suspended play for a couple of weeks to allow their players to join the national teams at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Parker was selected to go, and the US team cruised with eight straight victories to win the gold medal. Parker averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and scored 14 points in the final game. On October 3, 2008, Parker became the first WNBA player to win both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards in the same season, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld as the only professional American basketball players to win both ROY and MVP trophies in the same season.
