Sparks News: Candace Parker Reveals Ideal Guest List for Jersey Retirement
Future Hall of Famer Candace Parker will be just the third Los Angeles Sparks great to have her threads in the rafters. The 6-foot-4 power forward/center's iconic No. 3 jersey will be retired, in celebration of her contributions to the franchise.
Parker's retirement ceremony at Crypto.com Arena will be something of a two-for-one. It's set to transpire on June 29, during a game between the Sparks and Parker's hometown Chicago Sky, whom she led for two seasons from 2021-22, including the club's run to its inaugural '21 championship.
The Los Angeles Sparks will retire Candace Parker’s No. 3 jersey on June 29 at https://t.co/flEqKGaljd Arena.
— Black Enterprise (@blackenterprise) April 1, 2025
Parker, a two-time WNBA MVP and three-time champion, will join Sparks icons Lisa Leslie and Penny Toler in the rafters. https://t.co/8Jw16jZNgN pic.twitter.com/LkY7sA1DsX
Parker, a two-time MVP with Los Angeles, will join three-time Sparks MVP and two-time champion center Lisa Leslie and point guard/title-winning general manager/interim head coach Penny Toler.
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Parker, now a broadcaster on TNT, spoke during a recent NBA game broadcast about who she's hoping will attend her jersey retirement ceremony at Crypto.com Arena.
.@Candace_Parker says she wants the Bryant family at her jersey retirement ceremony 💛💜 pic.twitter.com/MbHvx1w94R
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 31, 2025
Parker cited Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol's run to three consecutive NBA Finals during the beginning of her L.A. tenure as a major inspiration and hoped that both Gasol and Bryant's widow and daughters could attend.
"You know, I was drafted in 2008 when it was, like, Kobe era," Parker said. "You know when he was trying to win that championship with Pau, and I was able to be in L.A. when they were there so I think to have Vanessa and the girls there, to have Pau there would be amazing," Parker said. "Lisa Leslie was a teammate of mine. Michael Cooper was influential in my career."
Cooper, a Hall of Famer during his own run with the Lakers, was Parker's first Sparks head coach.
"So I think definitely, just to have him there would be super special. And then just my teammates, man, think about [former Sparks point guard] Chelsea Gray and think about all the players that were part of the championship. And then, my daughter's playground was Staples [Center, now Crypto.com Arena]."
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Surprisingly, Parker does not (in this clip, at least) mention the single most critical teammate to her first title run in 2016 or her second WNBA Finals berth the next year: now-Seattle Storm All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike, the league MVP in 2016. Parker won Finals MVP honors. They were among the most dynamic duos in the game during their Sparks era.
A seven-time All-Star, 10-time All-WNBA honoree, and three-time champion (she also won a title with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023, although she was injured), Parker boasts career averages of 61.0 points on .479/.333/.767 shooting splits, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals in her 410 healthy seasons (406 starts).
Parker will be eligible to named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the first time next year.
More Los Angeles Sparks:
Sparks Retiring Candace Parker Jersey — What We Know
New Sparks Guard Kelsey Plum's Best Playoff Moments
Ranking The Sparks' 5 Best Draft Picks Ever
For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Sparks, visit Los Angeles Sparks on SI.
Currently also a scribe for Newsweek, Hoops Rumors, The Sporting News and "Gremlins" director Joe Dante's film site Trailers From Hell, Alex is an alum of Men's Journal, Grizzlies fan site Grizzly Bear Blues, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain't Easy, among others.