Candace Parker makes history and can’t help but get emotional after her jersey is retired, this time by the Chicago Sky

Candace Parker - English Chicago Sky - English Kahleah Copper - English Las Vegas Aces - English Los Angeles Sparks - English Nicole Somma - English Phoenix Mercury - English retirees-english Sports WNBA - English

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Chicago Sky followed in the footsteps of the Los Angeles Sparks in June and retired Candace Parker’s No. 3 jersey. In a ceremony during halftime of the team’s 79-74 loss to the Las Vegas Aces, another of her former teams, the 39-year-old former star made history.

Following this honor, the seven-time All-Star became the only WNBA player to have her jersey raised to the rafters by two different franchises.

Parker, emotional after her tribute

Her family, former teammates, friends, and even her high school coach were present on this special night.

Kahleah Copper, current Mercury star, also traveled for the occasion. Together they won the Sky’s only title in history in 2021, so in her moving speech she assured that she would not have missed this day “for anything.” Even after delivering her speech, she caught a flight to be present at Mercury’s game in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

When her moment arrived, Parker was emotional and showed a great sense of belonging. In her speech, she expressed her gratitude to everyone: “To my family, to my coaches, to my trainers, doctors, teachers, mentors, opponents, teammates, the entire Sky organization…all the supporters throughout the years are going up in the rafters,” she assured each and every one of them.

In front of the local Sky crowd and recalling her time at Naperville Central High School, she said: “When you tally up the championships, the banners, the state championships, the NCAA championships, and now the jersey in the rafters, it’s because of the bar this city set. It’s because of the expectations, the bright lights, the lessons learned. Most importantly, it’s because of the people,” Candace added.

My heart will always belong to the state of Illinois, the city of Naperville, and the city of Chicago. It’s not just where I’m from, but the core of who I am. That’s what home is.

Candace’s award-winning career

Candace was selected with the first pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent the first 13 years of her career there, winning one championship and her only Finals MVP award in 2016. She was also named league MVP twice.

She currently holds an incredible record: winning Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in the same season. She is the only player to achieve this, and she did so in 2008. After more than a decade, no one has been able to take that away from her.

In 2021, she joined Chicago Sky as a free agent for two seasons, and her impact was instantaneous. In addition to the championship, she was named an All-Star in both seasons and, in the latter, was included in the WNBA First Team.

She then played for the Las Vegas Aces, but injuries forced her to retire. Despite this and not having played in the playoffs, the team became champions, finally winning three WNBA titles with three different teams.

This news was originally published on this post .