Candace Parker rides big game to another WNBA milestone in battle of East's best
If Candace Parker retires after the season, it won't be because her game fell off.
The six-time WNBA All-Star had another big effort on Wednesday as her Chicago Sky secured a 91-83 win over the Connecticut Sun. Parker led the way with 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks. In doing so, she hit another significant career milestone.
With her fourth assist on Wednesday, Parker reached career tallies of 6,000-plus career points, 3,000-plus rebounds and 1,500-plus assists. She's the first player in WNBA history to do so.
She reached the milestone six days after tallying 10 points, 10 assists and 14 rebounds in a blowout win over the Los Angeles Sparks to become the first player in league history to record three career triple-doubles. Her second? That came in May in a 16-point, 13-rebound 10-assist effort in a win over the Washington Mystics.
While Parker thrives, the defending champion Sky just keep winning. With Wednesday's win, Chicago improved to 14-5 to extend its Eastern Conference lead to 1.5 games over the Connecticut team it beat. The Sky look poised to compete for another championship.
Parker, 36, said in May that she was "entering the season" as if it were her last. She didn't say that she was definitively planning to retire as she plays out the last season of her contract. She's a mother of two children, one a baby boy who arrived in February. She also has a burgeoning media career in progress as a podcaster and basketball analyst for TNT.
Whatever Parker decides, she won't lack options. But if basketball keeps going this well, it could prove tough to walk away from the game.
