An Appreciation of the WNBA Champion Chicago Sky’s Candace Parker

By ROB KNOX

@knoxrob1

 

As time ticked away late Sunday afternoon securing the Chicago Sky’s first WNBA championship in franchise history, Candace Nicole Parker, ball in her hands dribbling and then safely tucked under her arms, floated to her parents and daughter in the crowd. 

 

A sweat-soaked Parker, with tears in her eyes, embraced everybody in the biggest bear hug possible, squeezing them as if her life depended on it while confetti rained down from the rafters of a roaring Wintrust Arena following the Sky’s thrilling 80-74 come-from-behind victory over the Phoenix Mercury in Game Four of the WNBA Finals to take the series 3-1. 

 

Parker is a WNBA champion for the second time in her career.

 She triumphantly reached the apex at home in front of those that formed the foundation of her excellence. Her high school basketball coach was there. Mom. Dad. Relatives.

 

Parker is from nearby Naperville, Illinois, where she became a national sensation who somehow exceeded every expectation to become one of the all-time greats on and off the court.

 

“It was amazing to just hug my dad and my mom and my family,” Parker said. “It was just an amazing feeling to be from here and see so many people in the stands that have been supporting you since you started. 

“I sent Allie (Quigley) a picture this morning of us when we were in high school, and it was like, man, not bad for two suburban kids, right, playing in the WNBA Finals together?”

 

Parker scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and handed out five assists.

.It’s always great when one of the best and most versatile players on the planet gets rewarded for her elegant grace, hard work, positivity, advancing the legacy of women’s basketball, and unrelenting passion. 

 

The timeless trinity of family, faith, and resilience has fueled Parker during her distinguished career.

 She had a decision to make prior to this summer as a free agent: return to Los Angeles, where she spent the first 13 years of her career, or explore her options. 

 

She chose to sign with Chicago, her hometown franchise, living by faith that she and her teammates could reach the mountaintop during a season when Las Vegas, Seattle, Connecticut, and Phoenix opened as favorites. 

 

Part of playing for Chicago is Parker would be near her family, which was a huge factor for her.

 However, there was one more major approval that was needed for Parker to fully sign with Chicago: Her daughter, Lailaa.

 

“I owe everything I am to her, just because she's been my motivation and my reason for everything,” Parker said.

 “You know what's crazy, I have a picture of Lailaa in Minnesota when we first won, and it was in a similar fashion where it was like, we didn't know who was going to win, it was dramatic, and she's like yelling, "Mom, we did it!" And I have that picture on my wall in the office. 

 

“Before I decided to come here, which has been like -- it's tough, we're away from each other. We started the season for a month; we're never away from each other. 

“So, I asked her if it was okay if I came to Chicago, and she was like, I want another picture. Like I want another picture like that.

“And it's crazy because she came out to the court and said, "we did it," and it was just, surreal.

 

“We've gone through this together. You know? Like she sacrifices for her mom so that I can live my dream.

“ I just am so thankful for her, that she's here for the big moments, but she's also here when I don't want to get up and go work out, she sees those moments.”

 

Parker has been an under-appreciated treasure of excellence during her career. 

She won her first WNBA title in 2016 against Maya Moore and the Minnesota Lynx on the road. Her second was accomplished against Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury. 

 

Parker’s WNBA career has been paved with heartbreak, potholes, bumps, and injuries. 

 

She never lost faith. 

 

Not easy and nothing was given.

 

“So, I think it's just a moment where you just have to take it in, so that's what that was,” Parker said. “You know, I think we live in a result-driven world, which is great, because I think the champions obviously -- when you have MJ, who everybody in Chicagoland aspires to be like him, six rings, but I just feel like sometimes it's like the tough ones that stay the course, you know?”

 

Sometimes, the work when no one is looking is the most memorable part of the journey. Parker transformed each perceived obstacle and difficult defeat into an opportunity.

 

Blending a combination of beauty and athletic prowess, the 35-year-old Parker has been a perfect ambassador for the WNBA as well as a terrific role model for youngsters and working mothers. 

 

Parker is a portrait of self-discipline, humility, perseverance, and will. 

With a relentless drive to always improve herself on the floor, Parker has used that same determination to create spaces in board rooms for women, which may be her most admirable quality. 

 

She has used her platform and status to uplift and empower others. She has spoken on panels and challenged men to make sure they have a chair or two for women at every table in rooms where critical decisions are made.

 

Those are reasons why we celebrate with and for Parker because she deserves this moment. 

 

“I think the heartbreaks hurt, but this one is so sweet,” Parker said. “Like to do it with this group, I love this group, I love this team, and to do it here at home, it's just like, all of those heartbreaks, it was just supposed to be today. 

“Like I had flashbacks from high school when I first realized we won the state championship, and it was kind of like similar, I don't know.”

 

Parker also had tremendous motivation from her late college coach, Pat Summit, as well as the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi. 

 

“I think Kobe and Gigi have meant so much to our league, so the advice I got from Vanessa (Bryant) before the game was play Gigi's way, and I think we've done that,” Parker said. 

“We've done that all Playoffs, so I want to acknowledge his contribution. And Vanessa said, ‘if Gigi could play, she would play as hard as she could.’ So, I think that was huge in our team and just us overcoming everything that came together. So, thank you, Vanessa. We love you, Gigi. We love you, Kobe.” 

 

 

Guru’s WNBA Report: Taurasi’s Record Night and Alyssa Thomas’ Performance Enable Phoenix to tied host Las Vegas While Host Connecticut Does Likewise To Chicago

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — For the top-seeded Connecticut Sun here at the Mohegan Sun Arena and out West for the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury Thursday night was a time for getting even and as a result the two best-of-five semifinals series on their way to switching venues for respective Game 3s on Sundays will arrive all knotted at one-game each.

 

Each outcome was accompanied by special storylines.

 

Things started here gloomy for the hometown folks, whose local team had a 14-game regular-season ending winning streak snapped in its playoff debut Tuesday night 101-95 in double overtime by the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky as Courtney Vandersloot produced the second triple double in playoffs history.

 

The visitors Thursday extended their fun jumping to an 11-0 opening run before the Sun went on to say enough as Curt Miller went to his bench to spell relief of the starters followed later by a dominating fourth quarter in a 79-68 victory.

 

The punctuation point came in crunch time in the form of the rehabilitated Alyssa Thomas, who was doubtful to see any action this season following an Achilles heel injury overseas but willed herself back to health ahead of schedule over the summer while her Sun teammates went on to overshadow the rest of the league.

 

After the Sun had stabilized late in the first quarter, the Sky used a 9-2 run in the third quarter to regain control and used the entire period to outscore Connecticut 20-13 and go up one at 59-58.

 

With 10 minutes left and the threat of going down 0-2 and heading to hostile territory, paced by Thomas, the Sun dominated the rest of the way as the former Maryland star scored 10 of her 15 points and 10 rebounds — she had 11 overall and became the first player to have 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals off the bench in a playoff.

 

Jasmine Thomas, who scored less off taking a new role season, finished for Connecticut with 12 points and three assists on her 32^nd birthday.

 

DeWanna Bonner added 15 points and eight rebounds while Brionna Jones, who earlier this week was named Most Improved Player for the WNBA summer, finished with 11 points.

 

Briann January added 11 points.

 

For Chicago, native Philadelphian and former Rutgers standout Kahleah Copper had 13 points, while Courtney Vandersloot was tamed with six assists and 10 points, while Candace Parker scored 12 and Azura Stevens scored 10. Parker also had a team rebounding best seven.

 

Meanwhile, out West Diana Taurasi, who was playing with a foot injury, was in vintage form scoring a career high in the postseason with 37 points, leading the visiting Phoenix Mercury to a series tying 117-91 victory in Sin City after letting a lead slip away in Tuesday’s opener against the Las Vegas Aces.

 

“We brought a different mindset to the game, an aggression,” the former Uconn star said.

 

Earlier this summer she won her fifth Olympic gold medal along with former teammate Sue Bird of the defending champion Seattle Storm, whom Phoenix upset in Sunday’s second round one game knockout.

 

“That’s what these games come down to,” Taurasi said. “In Game 1, they were the aggressors. They played more physical. Today, we did that and sustained that for long periods.”

 

She had a career-high eight three pointers in 11 attempts.

 

Overall with two more field goals she was 10 of 13 from the field.

 

The Mercury as a team had a playoff record with 68 points in the first half, shooting 76.5 percent from the field.

 

Brittney Griner, another Mercury Olympian, scored 25, the bulk coming in the first quarter with 16 points.

 

The Aces’ Kelsey Plum, who was named the Sixth Player by a national media panel, had 25 points, while Las Vegas’ Riquana Williams scored 17 points, and Liz Cambage scored 13.

 

“It seemed we were one step behind. You can’t do that against a good Phoenix team,” said A’ja Wilson, the league MVP a year ago when the entire league played in the bubble conditions in Florid

 

The Mercury held a huge 36-23 rebounding advantage and from beyond the arc  shot a blistering 14 of 16 while the Aces, seeded second, was 4 of 16 in their long range attack.

 

“I thought we exploited some of their matchups,” said Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello, who also coached the Australian Olympic squad last summer. “We took better shots in this game than we did in the first.”

 

Back here in the East, Connecticut was able to win on a night in which Jonquel Jones, voted the national player of the year, suddenly couldn’t find her shot.

 

“You think how far ahead of schedule she is in her Achilles’ rehab to get back at all and playing (is amazing),” Miller of Thomas’ performance to play almost whole to make up for Jones’ struggle.

 

“To play in this environment in this big a game and have that tenacity and intensity is remarkable.

 

“Players have to follow her and respect her. Her presence was invaluable.”

 

“This is one of the hardest things I’ve gone trough,” said Alyssa Thomas, who has also struggled with shoulder injuries. “I watched them get after it every game and in practice that pushed me to even get back to this moment.”

 

AddedSun guard Jasmine Thomas, “You’ve seen her do it over her career. She’s the toughest player in this game. To see her come back at a time where that’s what we were missing.”

 

Miller also injected controversy into the postgame conversation noting conditions in which both teams will be traveling to Chicago Saturday spread out across several flights to avoid sitting in middle seats.

“We are on three separate flights at two separate airports in order to try and keep some of our players that are much taller than I am out of middle seats,” Miller said, later noting the Sun contingent would fly out of both Boston and Hartford.

 

“I’ve been told it’s a very similar case for Chicago, which wouldn’t surprise me.”

 

Several years ago when Commissioner Cathy Engelbert first took the job, she helped rule to allow Las Vegas to charter.

 

“They took care of them,” Chicago coach James Wade said.

 

At the time, Engelbert cited coming across three time zones for allowing the charter.

 

With the series tied, both would now have to end at Game 4 for the Finals to begin a few days earlier.

 

To be continued.