LOS ANGELES — The Sparks beat the Sky to it. At least in one area.
Before the Sky beat them 92-85 at Crypto.com Arena, the Sparks became the first to retire Candace Parker’s jersey. The Sky will do the same Aug. 25 at Wintrust Arena, honoring the player who led them to their lone championship in 2021.
But Parker’s career started in Los Angeles, where she was drafted first overall in 2008. She’s still the only player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, and she delivered a championship to the Sparks in 2016. She added rings with the Sky in 2021 and the Aces in 2023.
“It’s hard to tell the story of women’s basketball without Candace Parker,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said pregame.
She had a personal impact on Marsh, too. The two got close during the Aces’ 2023 championship run, Parker’s final year before retirement. “She was a huge influence in my decision to come to Chicago,” Marsh said. “She knew what needed to be taken into account once the offer was put on the table.”
Speaking with the media before the game, Parker said athletes have two deaths — one when they retire — but she looks at it differently. She feels like she has two lives.
So what does she want in life number two? Among other things, Parker is aiming for WNBA ownership. She was part of a recent expansion bid in Nashville, though only Portland and Toronto have secured teams for next season.
Overall, she said she’s at peace with retirement and feels that the game prepared her for this next phase.
“The only thing I’m salty about is the chartered flights,” she joked. “I pressed send on the Instagram post, retired, and all of a sudden [commissioner] Cathy [Engel-bert] wants to say there’s chartered flights.”
Turnaround in the paint
In their first game without center Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky struggled to score in the paint. Cardoso accounts for 10 points in the paint per game, good for seventh in the league. But they figured it out Sunday against the Sparks, scoring 40 paint points — above their season average.
Elizabeth Williams started strong with eight points in the first quarter, and Angel Reese finished strong with 11 in the fourth.
Postgame debate
The big debate in the Sky locker room over the last few days has been about which position is the hardest in the WNBA.
Reese made her case for the four.
“I don’t care what you say,” she said. “We’re running, sprinting to screens, getting over screens, getting rebounds, finishing. We’re doing it all.”
Ariel Atkins admitted the four spot is stacked — the last 10 league MVPs have been post players — but she made the case for the guards. “I have to run baseline to baseline more often,” she said. “Sometimes [Reese] stops at the top of the key. So I’m gonna give it to the guards.”
