LOS ANGELES 鈥 There鈥檚 a theory, I suspect, in running a sports franchise that says when the present is dreary or discouraging, make your message about the past.
Then again, any time is a good time to honor Candace Parker 鈥 a transformational figure in women鈥檚 basketball, three-time WNBA champion, two-time MVP (one of those the same season she was Rookie of the Year, which puts her in a very exclusive club) and almost certainly a future Basketball Hall of Famer.
For 13 seasons, Parker was a member of the Sparks, and for most of that time, she was the team鈥檚 soul, its leader and its star. She learned well from Lisa Leslie, who was the cornerstone of the franchise when it and its league were launched in 1997.
Those two, whose careers overlapped in Parker鈥檚 rookie season of 2008, share an outsized chunk of the franchise鈥檚 legacy, especially since the Sparks haven鈥檛 made the playoffs since Parker left following the 2020 season. And with the current team in rebuild mode, and facing another of Parker鈥檚 former teams in Sunday鈥檚 game against the Chicago Sky 鈥 a 92-85 loss, dropping the Sparks to 5-12 this season 鈥 what better time for the organization to celebrate one of its legends?
Parker鈥檚 No. 3 was officially retired Sunday at halftime, and she revealed during the ceremony that even as one who grew up in Chicago before becoming a college superstar at Tennessee and the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, when the lottery to determine that No. 1 pick took place she was not rooting for her hometown team to get it.
Michael Jordan may have turned Chicago into a basketball town, but the allure of Showtime had captured her attention well before that.
鈥淢y idea of Hollywood was through basketball,鈥 Parker said during the halftime ceremony. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the glitz or the glam or the red carpets. It was the 鈥80s, Kareem and Magic, the Showtime Lakers. It was the early 2000s (Sparks) back-to-back with smooth Lisa Leslie, Delisha Milton Jones and Michael Cooper. It was the Kobe and Shaq era of the three-peat in the early 2000s. It was (the movie) 鈥楲ove and Basketball.鈥
鈥淚 wanted the (lottery) balls to fall in L.A.鈥檚 court. I wanted to be out west. I wanted to be with all the eyeballs, and the lights, where there鈥檚 ginormous shoes to fill.鈥
When she got here, Cooper 鈥 now a Hall of Famer, then the Sparks鈥 coach, and before that an integral part of those 鈥80s Lakers teams 鈥 told her this: 鈥淚f you win here, you鈥檙e a champion forever.鈥
Parker鈥檚 Sparks won it in 2016, the franchise鈥檚 third championship. It鈥檚 probably not an accident that as the franchise鈥檚 three retired jerseys are now arranged, Penny Toler鈥檚 11 and Leslie鈥檚 9 flank the 2016 championship banner. Parker鈥檚 No. 3 was unveiled just below it.
She went on to win two more championships after leaving L.A., winning with Chicago in 2021 and Las Vegas in 2023, and that suggests that there may be at least one more jersey retirement ceremony in her future, maybe two. But that 2016 title and those 13 seasons in purple and gold are an integral part of Parker鈥檚 legacy and also an integral part of the franchise鈥檚 lore, as well.
鈥淪eeing the (No.) 3 in the rafters, where I first picked up the ball and where it鈥檚 home now, is incredible,鈥 said Parker in a pregame media session. 鈥淚 lived here longer than I鈥檝e lived anywhere else. And so (it鈥檚) super important for me to be able to see this jersey in the rafters before any of the other ones (in Chicago and/or Las Vegas), because I think my 13 years here were super special.
鈥淵ou know, it was ups, downs, wins, losses, heartbreaks and rewards. But I think it it鈥檚 just super special to be able to share that with the teammates and coaches and organization that, you know, bet on me, picked me first in the 2008 WNBA draft. 鈥 That was a long time ago.鈥
She paid it forward as a player. Nneka Ogwumike, who won her own MVP award with the Sparks and is now with Seattle, talked earlier this season about how Parker influenced her to understand the game 鈥渇rom a different lens, perhaps maybe from a more advanced perspective.鈥
And, Ogwumike noted, Parker鈥檚 ability to drift out of the post and knock down shots from the perimeter helped expand the possibilities of the game for the next generation of big players.
鈥淭raditional basketball is post-up, and then you have the guards, and it was forbidden territory to, like, leave the paint,鈥 Ogwumike said. 鈥淏ut Candace is someone who kind of evolved that position, as a point forward. And that鈥檚 now especially more of a coveted role, because you can play both inside and out, and it鈥檚 a very hard position to guard.鈥
For all of Parker鈥檚 contributions to her team and her sport, how much of that resonates with the current Sparks?
First-year head coach Lynne Roberts talked before the game about how she hoped that 鈥渙ur players take from this is the legacy that is being a Spark. There鈥檚 been some incredible women that have put on that jersey, and it鈥檚 our job to carry that torch forward and to get that franchise back where it belongs.鈥
She said she thought her current players recognized and/or embraced the franchise鈥檚 legacy, rather than considering it just part of something before their time.
鈥淲e鈥檙e one of the OG franchises, right?鈥 Roberts said. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 some responsibility that comes with that, as a player, as a coach. So yeah, I do think they do (pay attention to it). I haven鈥檛 asked, but we talked (after Saturday鈥檚 practice) about what it means to put on a Spark jersey, and the great ones that have put it on before, the nets that have been cut down in that jersey. It鈥檚 our responsibility to get it back that way.鈥
That may take a while, so maybe emphasizing the past will help.
jalexander@scng.com