Candace Parker says she's treating this year as her final season in the WNBA
Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker doesn't have much more to accomplish in the WNBA. She's a six-time All-Star, two-time MVP winner and two-time champion — the last of which came with her hometown team last year.
Parker, 36, is in the final year of her contract with the Sky, and said she is treating this year as if it will be her last in the WNBA.
sorry about the quality but uh candace parker said she’s operating under the assumption this is her last year?? pic.twitter.com/Ze2LJyzgjo
— whitney medworth (@its_whitney) May 6, 2022
That seems like a pretty strong hint at retirement. Parker did not directly use that word, but it seems clear that, at the very least, she's going to strongly consider retiring after this season.
Parker hasn't really made it a secret that the end of her career was coming soon.
When I spoke with Candace Parker in March, I asked her if she’s excited to welcome young stars like Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Paige Bueckers to the WNBA.
“Yes, I’ll be watching from the sideline,” she said. https://t.co/4Vqha2d0uk— Meredith Cash (@mercash22) May 6, 2022
After spending the first 13 seasons of her career with the Los Angeles Sparks, Parker left to join the Sky for the 2021 WNBA season. Parker was born in Missouri, but moved to Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, at a young age and grew up in Illinois.
Parker accomplished her biggest goal in her first season with the Sky, helping lead the team to a championship.
With that under her belt, Parker doesn't have much more to cross off on her list of career accomplishments. She's never won back-to-back championships in the WNBA, so perhaps that can be her final goal before she hangs up her WNBA sneakers for good.
