Tennessee and WNBA legend Candace Parker is retiring from basketball, she announced on her Instagram on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m retiring,” Parker wrote in her post. “I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”
Parker is one of the most storied basketball players of all time. Playing 16 seasons in the WNBA, Parker won WNBA Championships with three teams, was a seven-time First Team All-WNBA selection, the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year and two-time MVP.
An extremely versatile player, Parker averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds and four assists per game over the course of her career. The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 17-plus points per game in eight different seasons topping out with a 20.6 point and 10.8 rebound per game season in 2010.
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Parker was dominant in a three-year career at Tennessee, earning Associated Press First Team All-American honors twice and winning the Wooden Award twice. She averaged 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds over the course of her career and 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game in her junior season.
A Naperville, Illinois native, Parker helped lead Tennessee to National Championships in 2007 and 2008— the final National Championships in legendary coach Pat Summitt’s career. In her retirement post, Parker discussed the impact Summitt has had on her life.
“My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to ‘chase people and passions and you will never fail.’ Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I’ve learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!” Parker wrote.
Parker’s 2008 basketball season is legendary. After leading Tennessee to the 2008 National Championship she made her WNBA debut that summer and averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while earning WNBA Rookie of the Year and First Team All-WNBA honors.
Parker has broken into broadcasting in recent years and has shined as a studio analyst for CBS, TBS and TNT during the NCAA Tournament in recent years. In her post, Parker stated her plans to continue broadcasting while also exploring other business ventures.
