WNBA legend Candace Parker, 38, announces retirement and vows to own 'both an NBA & WNBA team'

Three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker has announced her retirement after 16 seasons of pro basketball as she vowed to own 'both an NBA & WNBA team' in a lengthy social media post on Sunday.

'I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it,' Parker partially wrote as a caption to an adorable photo of herself as a young girl with a basketball on Instagram, Sunday. 'The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.'

Parker, 38, played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks, establishing her dominance early as a No. 1 pick who won Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. 

She was the first WNBA player to accomplish that feat, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while helping the Sparks to a 10-win improvement in 2008.

Parker earned her second MVP award in 2013 and won her first title in 2016 with the Sparks. She'd go on to win a second title with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and a third with the Las Vegas Aces last season. 

Candace Parker is retiring after 16 seasons in the WNBA. The 38-year-old was drafted in 2008 

Parker ranks ninths all-time in pts (6,574), seventh in assts (1,634) and third in rebounds (3,467)

Parker won Olympic gold medals with Team USA at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012

The power forward has a daughter, Lailaa, with Shelden Williams, whom she divorced in 2016

She's the only player in league history to win a championship with three different teams.

'The memories Candace Parker created for a generation of women's basketball fans will remain ingrained in our collective conscience forever, but she has given so much more to the game beyond her accolades and statistics,' The Aces said in a statement. 

'As a teammate and mentor, a mother and wife, a baller, broadcaster, and businesswoman she has inspired countless young people, both boys and girls, to chase and achieve their dreams.'

Parker ranks third in WNBA history in rebounds (3,467), fifth in blocks (619), seventh in assists (1,634) and ninth in points (6,574). She was a two-time NCAA champion and two-time Wooden Award winner at Tennessee. 

In 2006, Parker became the first woman ever to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game. She won Olympic gold medals with Team USA at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

Off the court, Parker is married to Russian pro basketball player Anna Petrakova. The couple shares a son, Airr, who was born in 2022. In December, Park announced that she and Petrakova were expecting another child. Parker was once married to former NBA player Shelden Williams from 2008-2016. The former couple shares a daughter, Lailaa, who was born in 2009.