Candace Parker Retires After 16-Year Career; Won 3 WNBA Titles, 2 MVP Awards

Las Vegas Aces star Candace Parker announced Sunday she's retiring from the WNBA.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it," she wrote on Instagram. "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.

"I always wanted to walk off the court with no parade or tour, just privately with the ones I love. What now was to be my last game, I walked off the court with my daughter. I ended the journey just as I started it, with her."

The Aces issued a statement following her retirement:

Parker was limited to 18 appearances in 2023 after undergoing midseason foot surgery.

During a November appearance on Good Morning America, the 38-year-old acknowledged her future was up in the air. She expressed interest in returning to the court if healthy but said she wasn't going to play through pain if that's what it took.

Parker is one of the greatest players in WNBA history.

A two-time national champion at Tennessee, the Los Angeles Sparks selected her first overall in the 2008 WNBA draft. As a rookie, she averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks en route to winning MVP.

Another MVP award followed in 2013 as she put up 17.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for Los Angeles.

A long-awaited WNBA title arrived for Parker in 2016 as the Sparks outlasted the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals. Her second came with her hometown Chicago Sky in 2021, a moment that added to her legacy.

In 2023, the seven-time All-Star became the first player in league history to win a championship with three different teams after the short-handed Aces took down the New York Liberty in the Finals.

That plays into what has become a running theme on social media. Whatever statistical achievement a player just reached, there's a good chance Parker already got there.

A look at her career numbers tells you all you need to know about the 6'4" forward's multifaceted skill set. She's ninth all time in points (6,574), third in rebounds (3,467), seventh in assists (1,634), fifth in blocks (619) and 16th in steals (523).

Parker was also ahead of her time as a somewhat undersized big who could stretch the floor. A 33.3 percent three-point shooter, one can only imagine how much more of an impact she would've had if she had entered the WNBA now, with teams placing even more emphasis on switchability and spacing.

Parker's retirement, while not unexpected given her past comments, is a serious blow to Las Vegas' three-peat bid. She adapted seamlessly to a more complementary role and was a massive luxury as the fifth scoring option.

Even if she had announced her decision before free agency got underway, finding a replacement with a similar pedigree would've been impossible for the Aces given their limited salary cap flexibility.

With the opener less than a month out, head coach Becky Hammon will be counting on forward Megan Gustafson in a big way.