Candace Parker

Her father played basketball at the University of Iowa in the 1970s.

The Parker family were also Chicago Bulls fans.

Candace was worried about playing basketball, fearing she would not live up to the level of play her father and brother demonstrated, so she focused on playing soccer.

It wasn't until the eighth grade that her family convinced her to play basketball.

Her father helped coach and critique her.

Parker said of the experience, "He did things to make me mad, to challenge me, because I was so much more athletic and had so much more knowledge of the game than everyone else that sometimes I just coasted. If me and my dad went to a park and he didn't think I was practicing hard enough, he'd just get in the car and leave. And I'd have to run home. I mean run home. Once I figured that out, I'd always try to go to close-by parks."

Like her older brother Anthony Parker, she attended Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois.

Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) nicknamed "Ace", is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Parker was born on April 19, 1986, in St. Louis, Missouri.

She has two older brothers, including former NBA basketball player Anthony Parker.

Parker and her family moved to Naperville, Illinois, at the age of two, where she spent her childhood.

Her family loved basketball and she began playing at an early age.

On December 27, 2001, Parker dunked for the first time in competition as a 15-year-old sophomore at Naperville Central High School.

This is believed to be the first slam dunk by a female athlete in Illinois.

She was also a consensus pick as player of the year in Illinois in 2002, 2003, and 2004, and was a four-year member of the All-State first team.

In high school, Parker won the 2003 and 2004 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year awards, becoming just the second junior and the only woman to receive the award twice.

Parker led her high school basketball team to Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004, and compiled a school-record 2,768 points (22.9 points per game) and 1,592 rebounds (13.2 rebounds per game) while starting 119 of the 121 games in which she played.

She is the only two-time award winner of the USA Today High School Player of the Year, winning the award in 2003 and 2004.

Parker also won the Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and Gatorade Female Basketball Player of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004.

On November 11, 2003, during her senior year, Parker announced her commitment to Tennessee on ESPNEWS, becoming the first women's player to announce the oral commitment live on the network.

In 2004, she was named Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, WBCA All-American and McDonald's All-American.

She participated in the 2004 WCBA All-America Game where she scored nine points.

On March 29, 2004, Parker won the slam dunk contest at McDonald's All-American Game, becoming the first woman to win the event and beating the likes of Josh Smith and J. R. Smith.

In August 2004, Parker led the undefeated USA Junior World Championship team to a gold medal with 16.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

While training, Parker had a relapse of knee pain and was required to undergo surgery both the lateral meniscus and the lateral articular cartilage in her left knee.

She wears the number 3 on her jersey to honor former NBA player Allen Iverson who encouraged her during her high school career.

Parker entered the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2004.

On February 17, 2005, Tennessee announced Parker would redshirt her first season due to a knee injury she had suffered in a summer league game.

As a college player for Tennessee, she led the team to two consecutive national championships (2007, 2008), was named the Final Four's most outstanding player in both occasions and was a two-time consensus national player of the year.

As a redshirt freshman, she became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first woman to dunk twice in a college game.

After being selected in the WNBA Draft, Parker signed long-term endorsement deals with Adidas and Gatorade.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.

She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and as of 2023 has spent one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.

A versatile player, Parker mainly plays the forward and center positions.

Parker has won two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2008, 2013), a WNBA All-Star Game MVP Award (2013), two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2008).

She has been selected to six All-WNBA teams and five All-Star teams, and was the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and the MVP awards in the same season.

Parker became the second player to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22, 2008.

In 2016, Parker led the Sparks to win their first WNBA Finals title since 2002 and won the WNBA Finals MVP Award.

In 2021, she helped the Sky win their first title.

Since 2018, Parker has been an analyst and commentator for Turner Sports, providing coverage for NBA games on TNT and NBA TV and for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.