The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame needs to make some room because another definite first-ballot inductee just stepped away from the game.
Canada Parker is retiring from the WNBA after 16 seasons. The three-time champion and two-time league MVP made the announcement on Sunday.
“I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it,” Parker said in an Instagram post. “The competitor in me always wants one more, but it’s time. My heart and body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”
Parker, 38, spent her final season with the Las Vegas Aces where she took on the role of veteran leader as they went on to win a championship.
“I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love. What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her.”
She spent 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks who drafted her first overall in 2008, then went to her hometown of Chicago for two seasons where she captured her second title. Parker finishes with career averages of 16 points, 8.5 rebounds, and four assists.
She became the first player in WNBA history to be named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season when she averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while helping the Sparks to a 10-win improvement in 2008.
After winning a title last season with the Aces, Parker became the first player in league history to win a championship with three different teams. She had previously won titles with the Sparks (2016) and Chicago Sky (2021).
Along with her championships and MVP awards, the 6-foot-4 forward leaves the game as a seven-time All-Star, one-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Parker had re-signed with Las Vegas back in February, with the intention of helping the squad’s pursuit of a third consecutive title.
The rest of the WNBA world was just as shocked as the fanbase was by the abrupt announcement.
Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, another first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever she retires, was told about Parker’s decision during practice and was completely caught off guard as she asked “effective immediately?”
“Obviously Candace has had an amazing career,” Stewart said per Khristina Williams. “I’m a little bit sad about it, you love going up against her. The legend that she is, what she’s done for our league on and off the court. I really appreciate all she’s done to help me get to where I am.
“Yeah, that really did shock me.”
Parker credited part of her decision to step away was because of a nagging foot injury and the potential of another surgery. She’s already gone through 10 surgeries for various injuries throughout her career.
— With files from the Associated Press
