On a day the Sparks retired the jersey of the superstar whose departure has coincided with their five-year funk, Candace Parker nearly missed her pregame news conference.
With a room full of media types eager to write that rare positive Sparks story, Parker got caught in convention traffic and was so late that the game was starting and she took just five minutes’ worth of questions.
The Candace Curse struck late.
In the fourth quarter against the Chicago Sky at Crypto.com Arena, in front of a crowd waving yellow Candace Parker T-shirts, the Sparks did something they’ve been doing in bunches since Parker skipped town after the 2020 season.
A dreary Sky team missing star Kamilla Cardoso still managed to beat a Sparks team filled with Parker inspiration, winning 92-85 with a fourth-quarter rally and turning what should have been the best day of the year into the worst loss of the season.
“It’s tough,” said the Sparks’ Emma Cannon.
Tough to play, tougher to watch, this being the Sparks’ 12th loss in 17 games as they spiral toward their familiar spot in the bottom of the WNBA standings.
This was once a special franchise, as the classy halftime jersey retirement ceremony for Parker reminded everyone, with Lisa Leslie introducing and Parker embracing and the standing crowd a little teary.
This is now a blight of a franchise, as the surrounding 40 minutes of basketball reminded everyone, the Sparks playing hard but sorely lacking in talent, direction and any sort of playoff future.
In the final five of Parker’s 13 seasons here, the team went 108-50 and reached the Finals twice while winning their third championship.
In the five years since then, they are 55-110 and haven’t reached the playoffs.
If that’s not a curse, it’s a mighty powerful coincidence.
History shows that it could have been, and should have been, so much different.
Parker, a two-time MVP and seven-time All-Star, should have played her entire career here. She never should have left as a free agent. Like Leslie, she should have been a Spark forever.
The jersey of former Sparks player Candace Parker is displayed during her jersey retirement ceremony.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
She left because of problems with then-coach Derek Fisher, because of the Penny Toler postgame-tirade controversy, because the organization had already begun its downward spiral.
If the Mark Walter-led ownership group had been paying attention, she would have stayed a Spark. If the owners put the same effort they put into running the Dodgers, the issues would have been handled and Parker would have been prioritized. She was not, and then she was gone.
“The culture was toxic…I was part of that culture and had been absorbed in that toxicity,” Parker wrote in her book, “The Can-do Mindset.”
She also left because she wanted to play near her Chicago-area hometown, and she later bolted there for Las Vegas, and won titles in both places when she should have been winning them here. Here’s guessing she would have rather won them here, as Sunday she acknowledged Los Angeles had become her home.
“L.A. isn’t just about ball,” she told the crowd during the halftime ceremony. “For me anymore, it’s now where we call home and we will forever call home. So thank you so much, I love you all, I’m so appreciative, and I can’t believe it. Thank you all. Thank you.”
One can’t blame her if she no longer recognizes her former team. The Sparks no longer have a superstar, a deep bench, a championship hope in hell.
Full disclosure: I am a Sparks honk. I’m such a fan that my daughter MC and I have partial season tickets.
Also full disclosure: When picking our seats for this season, we had a choice to sit behind either bench, so we took the ones behind the visiting bench. The visitors always have more stars, the visitors are always more fun.
Certainly, these Sparks have some shining moments. Kelsey Plum works as hard as any star in any local sport, Azurá Stevens is one of the league’s underrated forces and Dearica Hamby is solid.
But a series of lousy draft picks and a lack of an attractive infrastructure — that imaginary permanent practice facility is being built any day now! — have kept them from acquiring the sort of superstars that carry teams in crunch time, the kind of difference-makers this town deserves.
“I feel like we’re right there,” Plum told me before Sunday’s game. “We’re young, we lack depth and cohesion, those things take time, I have faith that throughout the season we’ll continue to build.”
Plum has been an outstanding addition since coming here last winter in a trade, she works harder in pregame warmups than some players during the entire game, but what she’s saying, we’ve heard before.
Candace Parker was a two-time MVP, rookie of the year and led the Sparks to the 2016 title in her 13 seasons with the team.
(Associated Press)
The latest spin is that the Sparks’ No. 2 overall draft pick Cameron Brink will make a big difference when she returns from knee surgery later this summer. But she didn’t make a huge difference early last season when she played. Their other top draft pick from last season, Rickea Jackson, scored six points Sunday and has basically been a bust.
Barring the signing of a major free agent — who wants to play on a team with no permanent home? — there’s not much help coming next year because they’ve traded their first-round pick.
So their motto should be…Waiting for JuJu?
It’s all so depressing, especially on a day that should have been so uplifting.
Before the game, new coach Lynne Roberts — her honeymoon is already over — called this a “must-win.”
Since the Candace Curse, that has meant, “About to lose.”
When Candace Parker was on the court, the Sparks were dominant. On the afternoon her jersey was retired, they had a chance to channel that energy — but the Sparks were anything but overpowering.
In a matchup between the two franchises Parker led to WNBA titles — the Sparks and Chicago Sky — her hometown team played spoiler, earning a 92-85 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Angel Reese, the self-proclaimed queen of “Mebounds,” proved too much for L.A. to handle — for the second time in five days.
Reese finished with 16 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Her impact extended beyond the boards, with Reese adding 24 points and seven assists.
Entering the game, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts praised Reese as “elite,” underscoring her high motor and physicality, adding that the Sparks would need to be the aggressors to slow her down.
But they were out-hustled and out-muscled down the final stretch of the game.
“We just got to be tougher,” Roberts said. “Sustain runs, handle adversity, performance issues, bad calls — whatever.”
For the Sparks, it was a must-win game — not only to build on their recent 85–75 win over the Indiana Fever, but also to avoid spoiling Parker’s retirement celebration.
“We would have loved [to have won],” Roberts added. “I think we all wanted that win for her, so it’s disappointing — it’s kind of extra disappointing.”
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) draws a foul while driving in front of Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese Sunday at Crytpo.com Arena.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
While the Sparks (5-12) struggled against Reese for most of the game, forward Emma Cannon gave L.A. a surge off the bench. Undersized Cannon made life difficult for Reese during key stretches, drawing a technical foul during a tense third-quarter exchange in the post.
Cannon’s second-half performance briefly turned the tide. With the Sparks trailing by 12 — their largest deficit of the game — Cannon helped fuel a 24–5 run that put L.A. ahead 60–53. She finished with a season-high 15 points in four minutes.
But the Sky didn’t go away. By the end of the third, the Sparks led just 62–61 — and in the fourth, Chicago closed strong. Behind Reese, the Sky ballooned the lead back to double digits — 82–72 — too much for the Sparks to overcome.
“We have to learn how to finish games, and it’s not necessarily what the other team does,” Cannon said. “It’s just about us actually digging in and buying in and finishing it.”
A rally in the final minutes, led by Kelsey Plum, Azurá Stevens and Dearica Hamby, fell short.
Plum (22 points), Stevens (17 points) and Hamby (20 points) accounted for the bulk of the Sparks’ offense, combining for 59 of the team’s 85 points.
“It’s a choice when you’re hit with adversity or you lose, when you don’t perform the way you want to,” Roberts said on learning lessons from losses. “It’s a choice as to how you approach it, and there is no magic formula.”
Parker honored
The game was a tribute to Parker. At the arena entrance, fans were greeted by a purple and gold floral arrangement shaped like the No. 3. Video messages from Lakers legends, including Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper, played throughout the festivities.
Before Parker received a thunderous ovation as her No. 3 jersey was revealed in the rafters, she addressed the fans.
“They say athletes have two deaths — one being when your career ends — but I look at it as two lives,” Parker said during her halftime speech. “It’s never easy to put the ball down and move from your first love. That’s something I learned throughout my career here through basketball, and I’m going to carry it into the next phase of life.”
Former Sparks star Candace Parker waves while standing beside her family during her jersey retirement ceremony Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
Before the game, she also reflected on the full-circle moment — standing in the same arena where she won her first WNBA championship, fittingly against her hometown team, the Chicago Sky. She won a title with the Sky in 2021 and will see her jersey retired by the franchise this August.
“Seeing the No. 3 in the rafters where I first picked up the ball, and where is home now, is incredible,” Parker said. “It’s about dreams and opportunity. … So I hope that that inspires those little girls out there.”
Her jersey is just the third retired in Sparks history, joining former teammate Leslie’s No. 9 and longtime general manager Penny Toler’s No. 11.
“When it was time for me to say goodbye, I knew when I handed the keys to Candace Parker,” said Leslie, who introduced Parker during the halftime jersey retirement ceremony. “She not only took the key to the building — but she ran with it.”
In 2000, whispers of a 13-year-old phenom from Naperville, Ill. — a Chicago suburb — began reverberating through the AAU circuit. Generational. Dominant. Striking. Perhaps the greatest women’s basketball prospect ever. Candace Parker’s name rang out far beyond her hometown.
Word soon reached every elite college basketball program in the country — from Durham, N.C., to College Park, Md., to Knoxville, Tenn. — each clamoring for her talents. Few truly stood a chance.
“Her game at such an early age was something I had never seen in person,” said Nikki Fargas, then an assistant coach at Tennessee. “To see her do it so young tells you a lot. … She was undeniable, and her presence was felt.”
Long before Parker’s illustrious professional career and her Sparks jersey retirement ceremony Sunday — three championships, two MVPs, rookie of the year, defensive player of the year, Finals MVP, two Olympic golds, seven All-Star nods and 10 All-WNBA selections — she was simply “Ace,” a sweatband-wearing, bob-cut sporting teenager set to graduate.
Fargas, who won a national title under legendary coach Pat Summitt, was Tennessee’s recruiting director in 2003 and was looking to make a splash with her first class. The moment she saw Parker in person, she was certain: Parker would be a Lady Vol.
By her senior year in high school, Parker had grown into a 6-foot-4 national player of the year and state champion.
Candace Parker was considered one of the top college recruits while at Naperville Central High in a suburb outside of Chicago.
(Anne Ryan / Associated Press)
Fargas attended all of Parker’s games at Naperville Central High, a nearly 1,100-mile round trip. She sat in the Redhawks’ gym bleachers, decked out in Tennessee orange while sending a not-so-subtle message, often with Summitt by her side.
Fargas made her final pitch clear and direct: Parker could become the greatest under Summitt.
Joining Rocky Top
On Nov. 11, 2003, at the start of her senior year, Parker committed to Tennessee live on ESPNews — the first women’s basketball player to commit on national TV. Parker later told ESPN, “I wanted to be a professional basketball player. I loved that Knoxville was centered around women’s basketball.”
“Candace is the most versatile 6-foot-3 player at this stage of her game that I’ve ever seen,” Summitt said in a Tennessee news release announcing Parker’s signing a letter of intent. “She can play every position on the floor, from point guard to post, … Truly a great inside-outside player. … The total package.”
Parker’s arrival sent a jolt through Rocky Top. At just 18, she brought weighty expectations — it was championship or bust. For several years, it had been bust for Tennessee, which hadn’t won a national title since the late ’90s.
After missing her freshman year because of a knee injury, Parker proved to be better than advertised, propelling the Lady Vols back onto the national stage.
“Even in college, not only did she dunk, but she was able to pass, able to shoot at her position, able to do things that bigs weren’t doing,” said Noelle Quinn, a former Southland prep star and head coach of the Seattle Storm. “It was easy for Candace. It was easy for that team.”
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt gives instructions to Candace Parker during the 2007 NCAA title game against Rutgers.
(Tony Dejak / Associated Press)
Quinn experienced the Summitt-Parker era firsthand. In 2006, she led UCLA into an early-season clash on the road against No. 1 Tennessee — the start of Parker’s first title run.
“It was an amazing environment to play in — a game I’ll never forget,” Quinn recalled. Parker and Quinn led their teams in scoring — Parker with 22 points, Quinn with 20. Tennessee’s dominance with Parker at the helm was clear, Quinn said.
At the height of the team’s back-to-back championship runs, Fargas said traveling with the Lady Vols “was like traveling with rock stars.” Summitt’s fearless approach — taking on anyone, anywhere — kept Tennessee in the spotlight, with Parker as the undisputed headliner.
“What we’re seeing right now with Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark — bringing awareness, getting people to watch and increasing attendance — Parker was doing that already,” Fargas said. “Fans would be lined up at our hotel. Our bus would pull up and there were the fans.”
By the end of her college career, Parker had accomplished everything — two-time AP player of the year, 2008 Naismith college player of the year, and most outstanding player during both national title runs — the last of which was Summitt’s final championship.
“She fits in at the top,” Fargas said of Parker’s place in program history. “When you talk about Lady Vols, Parker is maybe the first of the names people talk about. … She was different.”
Big L.A. dreams
Parker was arguably the WNBA’s most anticipated prospect — a franchise-altering talent. Yet one question loomed: Who would land her?
In 2006, the Sparks were in championship contention, reaching the conference finals with MVP Lisa Leslie. But when Leslie missed the following season on maternity leave, the team plummeted to 10–24 — tied for worst in the league.
With a 34.1% chance at the No. 1 pick, the pingpong balls bounced the Sparks’ way.
Candace Parker, left, and Lisa Leslie crack jokes as they check their height at a Sparks photo shoot in 2008.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
Questions swirled about how Parker and Leslie would coexist. Leslie says she never saw a problem — only potential. She called herself “Smooth” and Parker “Silk,” and welcomed the role of hardening the rookie, likening it to “having another baby.”
For a time, Leslie lived a few floors from Parker in the team’s player housing, keeping tabs on Parker’s habits. She’d make her oatmeal and slice up fruit because Parker “wouldn’t eat well,” gently pushing through rookie stubbornness toward authority, nudging her toward the weight room and stressing the importance of body maintenance.
The wisdom of one MVP — and the freedom granted by Sparks coach Michael Cooper — helped ignite the greatest rookie season in WNBA history. Parker captured both rookie of the year and MVP honors, joining an exclusive club with NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld.
“Candace always showed greatness,” Leslie said. “Each generation, we’ve done our part. You carry that torch as far as you can, and hand it off with grace.”
The torch was Parker’s to bear into the next decade. But nine seasons in, she was still chasing her first Finals appearance, let alone a championship. Years of coaching changes, early playoff exits and unmet expectations had left the franchise — and its star — without a title.
Brian Agler’s first year as Sparks head coach started rocky with a 3–14 record, as Parker sat out the first half of the 2015 season after playing overseas. As the losses mounted, Parker prepared for a return and called Agler to arrange a closed workout.
“I think she wanted to play into me as, ‘OK, I’m gonna come back and get ready,’” Agler said. “But in reality, she was sort of measuring me up.”
Agler believed it was a test to see whether she thought he was the right fit — if he could lead the team to a championship, just as he had done with the Seattle Storm in 2010.
Sparks forward Candace Parker drives past Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson during a game in 2012.
(Stacy Bengs / Associated Press)
By the following season, with the pieces in play, contending for a championship seemed within reach. But the 2016 season wasn’t without turmoil for Parker. She was surprisingly left off the USA Olympic team, faced marital strife and mourned the loss of Summitt, who died of complications from Alzheimer’s.
On the court, Parker remained a force, and helped foster the rise of one of the league’s best — former No. 1 overall pick and MVP Nneka Ogwumike. Like Leslie had done for her, Parker took Ogwumike under her wing.
“For the most part, I was someone who paid attention to what vets did, and I spent a lot of time watching what she did,” Ogwumike said of Parker. “She helped me understand [the game] from a different lens, from a more advanced perspective coming in from college. We were able to develop some great chemistry.”
Agler said their connection “was as special as I’ve seen,” adding that Ogwumike “probably understood Candace better than most anybody.”
In Parker’s first WNBA Finals, she led the Sparks through a dramatic series against the Lynx, capped by a 28-point and 12-rebound performance in Game 5 to secure the title and Finals MVP.
Through tears, she found the only words she could muster: “This is for Pat.”
“I’m sure it [the pressure] was there for her,” Agler said. “I just remember when we won, how happy she was. She almost collapsed on the floor with joy. … That’s really the only time I’ve seen her that way in a public setting.”
Soon after the championship run, a divide grew between Parker and the organization. In her new book, “The Can-do Mindset,” Parker reflects on strained relationships with the front office, a carousel of head coaches and a growing distrust that ultimately fractured her relationship with the Sparks.
“The culture was toxic, and whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was a part of that culture and had been absorbed in that toxicity,” Parker wrote in her book, referring to the breakup. “I had to admit to myself that I didn’t like who I’d become in my years with the Sparks. It takes two to tango. So though I didn’t create the culture, I was still at fault in my own way.”
Chasing more titles and ownership
Candace Parker, center right, celebrates with Chicago Sky teammates after winning the 2021 WNBA title.
(Paul Beaty / Associated Press)
After 13 years, Parker decided to leave the Sparks. It’s a move Leslie called “unfortunate,” adding she had “no idea how they let her get away.” But Parker announced she was ready to find “a sense of peace,” signing with the Chicago Sky — moving as close to her native Naperville as possible.
During free agency, Parker called Azurá Stevens, who had just wrapped her first season with the Sky. Curious about the team and open to a fresh start, Parker asked about Stevens’ experience. Stevens still describes the conversation as “surreal,” thrilled by the idea of sharing the court with her childhood idol.
Growing up, Stevens — now the Sparks’ starting forward — modeled her game after Parker. Standing 6-foot-6, she admired Parker’s versatility and poise, and now, the two would be teammates in the same starting lineup.
“We had an up-and-down year and went through a lot that season,” Stevens recalls of the team finishing .500. “Candace definitely led the way. … A strong veteran presence for us to keep us level-headed. And once we got to the playoffs, we flipped the switch.”
Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown — like Stevens — followed Parker’s career. Finally playing alongside her in Chicago, what stood out wasn’t just Parker’s talent, but her relentless devotion while juggling motherhood, a broadcasting career and a championship run. “I remember watching her on TNT the night before, and she’d pull up to practice with some of her makeup still on,” Brown said. “She was really dedicated to helping us win. That was a special season for me.”
In the twilight of her career, Parker still showed flashes of the once baby-haired assassin who shook up the WNBA.
“It was a homecoming for the whole year,” Stevens said of Parker’s move to Chicago. “Being able to go back home and then bring a franchise its first championship is really special. The city really showed out for her.”
After two seasons in Chicago, Parker decided to reunite with Fargas — the coach who recruited Parker to Tennessee and eventually became president of the Las Vegas Aces.
With a championship pedigree and legacy to match, Parker’s new role was no longer the star but the connector. Her signing was meant to elevate A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young — all former No. 1 picks — to their fullest potential.
“She brought a calmness to our team,” Fargas said. “We already had a high-powered offense. … But having her on our team definitely helped raise and bring a championship culture.”
Candace Parker won her third WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023.
(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)
The outcome? A third championship with a third different team — another WNBA first.
But the victory came with a bittersweet edge. An ankle injury sidelined Parker for much of the season. “She did everything in her power to get back to us. … I know that was very difficult for her,” Fargas said.
With wear and tear piling up, Parker announced her retirement — opening with a borrowed line from a Jay-Z verse on the track “Dear Summer”:
“Dear Summer, I know you gon’ miss me …”
“I love his lyrics, but I love how he’s redefined what rappers are capable of,” Parker said of Jay-Z during an interview with ESPNW in 2023. “That’s what I hope to do for women’s basketball players. … I want to be that business leader, that business mind.”
Soon after retiring, Parker joined an investment group aiming to bring a WNBA franchise to Tennessee. Billionaire and former Gov. Bill Haslam — now chairman of the NHL’s Nashville Predators — and his wife, Crissy, led the Nashville-based bid. They’ve assembled a star-studded roster that includes Parker, Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and country music icons Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.
“When I called her the first time, I said, ‘Candace, we’d love you to be involved, and we don’t just want your name,’” Haslam recalled. “She was really quick to say, ‘Well, that’s great, because that’s the only way I would be involved.’”
With the WNBA set to expand to 16 teams by 2028, the group submitted its formal bid in January. The group proposes calling the team Tennessee Summitt.
“To see Candace join an ownership group — why not?” Fargas said. “Why aren’t there more opportunities for the players who helped shape this league? Why aren’t there those opportunities to allow them to not only play the game, but also invest in it?”
