Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Turner Sports
WNBA star Candace Parker announced her retirement on Sunday (April 28).
According to the Associated Press, one of the greatest WNBA players of all time took to social media to announce her career’s end.
The 38-year-old posted a lengthy Instagram post explaining her decision. She also expressed her gratitude for those “who made this journey so special.”
She began her with a Jay-Z lyric writing, “Dear Summer, I know you gon’ miss me…”
The WNBA season runs from May to September. The next line in Parker’s caption simply stated, “I’m retiring.”
Candace — nicknamed Ace — continued her farewell, “I promised I’d never cheat the fame & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competition me always wants 2 more, but it’s time.”
The baller explained that she “needed to give [her] mind time to accept it.”
Parker stated she didn’t want a big sendoff.
“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.” She added, “I ended the journey just as I started it, with her.”
The 6’4 forward has had several surgeries throughout her career, which she says affected her game.
Number 3 wrote, “It’s no fun playing in pain (10 surgeries in my career) it’s no fun knowing what you could do, if only…it’s no fun hearing “she isn’t the same” when I know why, it’s no fun accepting the fact you need surgery AGAIN.”
Candace shared that she fell in love with basketball as an early teen. Furthermore, she expressed that she is proud that she “stayed true to [herself], even when it wasn’t popular.”
Moreover, she stated, “I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors and trainers & fans who made this journey so special.”
Although her WNBA career is coming to an end, Candace says other businesses will take bloom.
“This is the beginning….I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardroom, beach volleyball, dominoes…” she said.
The beloved baller stated she will be applying “the same intensity” that “she did [in] basketball.”
Candace Parker played in the WNBA for 16 seasons. She was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2008. She is a seven-time All-Star, Two-Time WNBA Final MVP, and three-time national champion winner.
Additionally, she was selected as the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. Furthermore, in 2008, she made league history. She won Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year. Moreover, she won gold medals in 2008 and again in 2012.
Candace is HER!
