PROFESSIONAL: Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the first round (1st overall) of the 2008 WNBA Draft. Candace nearly averaged a double-double her rookie season (18.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and she led the league in rebounds. Candace earned the 2008 WNBA Rookie of the Year award and the Most Valuable Player award. This marked the first time in the WNBA that a rookie earned MVP. Candace is the first woman in the WNBA to win both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld as the only professional American basketball players to win both honors in the same season. She missed the first six weeks of the 2009 WNBA season after having her daughter Lailaa and with a quick maternity leave Candace returned to the court on July 5. She led the Sparks to the Western Conference Finals averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. Candace started the 2010 WNBA season averaging a team-high 21.8 ppg and 11 rpg. After sustaining a left shoulder injury during a game against the Minnesota Lynx, surgery was required and Candace missed the remainder of the 2010 season.
COLLEGE: Candace won back-to-back NCAA championships with the Lady Vols in 2007 and 2008. She led the team in scoring (20.6ppg) and rebounds (8.8) her final season at Tennessee. Candace was named the 2007 and 2008 Collegiate Female John R. Wooden Player of the Year, State Farm Player of the Year, Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year and Kodak All-American. She earned the NCAA Final Four MVP award in 2007 and 2008.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL: Candace earned a gold medal during the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China. She contributed 14 points in the final game versus Australia helping the U.S. Women’s basketball team capture their fourth straight gold medal. In September 2007, Candace led the USA Women’s Senior National team to a gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship and an automatic berth to the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. She led the 2007 squad in steals (12), blocks (4), scoring (69-13.8 ppg) and started all five games for the United States. When selected to the USA Women’s Senior National team in September 2006, Candace became the youngest member of the squad since 1994. She helped guide Team USA to a bronze medal in Brazil where she set a new American record for blocks in a tournament (14). Candace led the Women’s Senior National team in points (18) and ranked second in rebounds (8.4) and earned a spot on the five-member All-Opals World Challenge Team in April 2006.
PHILANTHROPY: Candace is the spokeswoman for the adidas “Me, Myself” campaign which inspires women of all ages and athletic ability to achieve their impossible through fitness. She is also an active supporter of WNBA Fit events to promote health and wellness, as well as an annual participate in the March of Dimes “March For Babies” 5k walk in Los Angeles. Most recently, Candace became the WNBA’s spokeswoman for the “Vaccinate A Village” program as part of the American Red Cross Measles Initiative.
PERSONAL: Candace Nicole Parker was born on April 19, 1986, in St. Louis, Mo. She is the youngest of three children for Larry Parker and Sara Parker. Her older brothers are Marcus and Anthony (Anthony plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers). Candace is married to Shelden Williams of the Denver Nuggets. The couple welcomed their first child, Lailaa Nicole on May 13, 2009. Candace credits her family for her success. She graduated from Tennessee with a major in Sports Management and a minor in Psychology. Candace is the first woman to dunk in a NCAA tournament game and the second woman in WNBA history (with Lisa Leslie the first) to dunk during a WNBA game. She hopes to one day become a television broadcaster/announcer and lists ABC’s Robin Roberts and media mogul Oprah Winfrey as celebrities she admires. Candace loves being a mom and enjoys spending free time with her family and two dogs.
